Oman’s match becomes vital for the ICC associate member, but it holds no bearing on the Asia Cup.

India and Oman will face each other in their third and final group stage game of the Asia Cup 2025. On one hand, India, the defending champions, have already secured a place in the Super Four Stage after they beat PAK and the United Arab Emirates, whereas Oman lost both games and are already out of the tournament. However, even though Oman has packed its bags, the match against India is crucial for the associated member of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Oman eyes the T20 World Cup

In October, Oman will host the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia and East Asia-Pacific Qualifier. In the qualifiers, eight teams will travel to Oman to play against each other. Following the qualifier, the top three teams from the nine will move on to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, hosted in India alongside Sri Lanka.

(Credit- Emerging Cricket)

The eight teams that will travel to Oman are Kuwait, Malaysia, the UAE, Qatar, Japan, Samoa, Nepal, and Papua New Guinea. Although these teams are underdogs, they will battle to secure a spot in the T20 World Cup. Therefore, Oman must exert its utmost effort.

For the record, Oman, Papua New Guinea, and Nepal qualified for the 2024 T20 World Cup from the aforementioned group.

Learn a thing or two

For Oman, the match against India will not be about winning because the fact is, they simply cannot unless they pull a rabbit out of a hat or use Harry Potter’s wand. Nevertheless, Oman ought to glean knowledge from India.

(Credit- Firstpost)

The match against Oman will give them the opportunity to test the best brand of T20 cricket currently available globally. Mimicking the Indian lads, players should converse whenever they can, before, during, and after the game, to learn.

What if?

If Oman succeeds in closing the gap between victory and defeat, it will give them a massive boost in confidence against other teams of a similar level, such as Nepal, Papua New Guinea, and others.

(Credit- The Sunday Guardian)

Oman has been playing regular T20 cricket, and the team expects to qualify for the T20 World Cup for the second consecutive time in the Super Eights. However, unlike 2024, if the team wins at least one match in the Super Eights round, it will be Oman’s biggest achievement in T20 international cricket.