T20 World Cup 2024: Aqib Ilyas to lead Oman, Debutants Canada also name squad
Oman and debutants Canada named their 15-man squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, scheduled to begin on June 1 in the USA and West Indies.
Batting all-rounder Aqib Ilyas has been named as Oman’s captain for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, beginning on 1 June. Ilyas was unveiled as skipper in the team’s squad announcement, with former captain Zeeshan Maqsood keeping his spot in the group. The 36-year-old deputized Sultan Ahmed in Oman’s T20 World Cup debut back in 2016, and led the side at the 2021 edition which they co-hosted with the UAE.
“I am truly honoured to be entrusted with the captaincy,” Aqib said. “It’s a huge responsibility, and I aim to lead the team to many victories. We are preparing rigorously for the World Cup, and the recent ACC Premier Cup has provided us with invaluable preparation.” A bulk of the squad that made the final of the recent ACC Premier Cup feature, with eight members of the 2021 T20 World Cup squad in for the 2024 push. The bowling lineup will once again be spearheaded by left-arm yorker specialist Bilal Khan, backed up with the ball by the likes of Kaleemullah and Fayyaz Butt, as well as the left-arm orthodox of Shakeel Ahmad. While a relative newcomer to the team, Shakeel joins all-rounders Aqib and Zeeshan in Oman’s spin flotilla.
With the bat, the pairing of Kashyap Prajapati and Naseem Khushi look likely to be deployed ahead of Aqib and Zeeshan at No.3 and No.4, with wicket-keeper batter Pratik Athavale and Ayaan Khan to likely feature lower down.
Oman squad: Aqib Ilyas (c), Zeeshan Maqsood, Kashyap Prajapati, Pratik Athavale (wk), Ayaan Khan, Shoaib Khan, Mohammad Nadeem, Naseem Khushi (wk), Mehran Khan, Bilal Khan, Rafiullah, Kaleemullah, Fayyaz Butt, Shakeel Ahmad. Reserves: Jatinder Singh, Samay Shrivastava, Sufyan Mehmood, Jay Odedra
SAAD BIN ZAFAR TO LEAD CANADA
All-rounder Saad Bin Zafar has been named captain as Canada named an experienced squad for next month’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. It will be Canada’s first appearance at the T20 World Cup and the North American side are drawn in Group A alongside co-hosts USA, India, Pakistan and Ireland. Left-arm orthodox spinner Saad brings a wealth of experience to the Canada team, with top-order batter Aaron Johnson and left-arm seamer Kaleem Sana also expected to feature heavily in a side with just four players under the age of 30.
There was no room in the squad for Nikhil Dutta or Srimantha Wijeyeratne, while Tajinder Singh travels as a reserve. Canada’s first match at the T20 World Cup comes against USA in Dallas on June 1. The Americans won a bilateral series between the teams in early April. The team is coached by former Sri Lankan and Canadian international Pubudu Dassanayake, having taken the reins in 2022.
Canada squad: Saad Bin Zafar (c), Aaron Johnson, Dilon Heyliger, Dilpreet Bajwa, Harsh Thaker, Jeremy Gordon, Junaid Siddiqui, Kaleem Sana, Kanwarpal Tathgur, Navneet Dhaliwal, Nicholas Kirton, Pargat Singh, Ravinderpal Singh, Rayyankhan Pathan, Shreyas Movva. Reserves: Tajinder Singh, Aaditya Varadharajan, Ammar Khalid, Jatinder Matharu, Parveen Kumar.