Oman captain Jatinder Singh has urged India to come forward to help them bridge the gap to the Test playing nations after the match between the two sides in the Asia Cup 2025 on Friday, September 19. Oman gave India a mini-scare during the match but ultimately were beaten by the T20 World Champions by 21 runs.
, but they were able to show character during the game against India by losing just four wickets during the run chase for 167 runs. They were also able to restrict India to 188 runs after they made a strong start to the first innings. Speaking after the game, the Oman captain said that if his side are allowed to play in India and given a chance to train in the country, it would help them massively.
“Well, I think if we can get India coming forward, you know, letting us make their home our home…,” said Jatinder Singh during the press conference after the game. “If we can train there, go to the NCAs, train our skill, mental aspects, the fitness part, and play a lot of T20s with the club teams and Ranji teams, I think that will definitely help us and that will fill the gap.”
Jatinder also said that the team is happy to have gotten the chance to play in the Asia Cup and praised his side’s character during the competition and wants more such tournaments to help associate nations.
“We are an Associate nation. The reality is we do not get to play with the Test playing nations,” Jatinder said. “So we are so, so fortunate that we got this platform to come and play here. And I am so grateful and so proud of the boys, the way they showed up, the character in the current situation.
“So I think these kinds of tournaments, if it happens time and again, I think more number of Associates should be included so that they can rub shoulders and get close, fill the gap for what we have between the Test playing nations and the Associate nations.
“Oman players are no less to anyone. We do not get that platform to play in franchise cricket. I think if they get the platform to play in such tournaments, the boys will really benefit from it and they can bring a lot of experience back to Oman and they can train the boys accordingly.”
Oman has eyes on World Cup qualifiers
Talking about the India performance, Jatinder felt that his side had executed their plans well and showed character in the final game. The Oman captain said that his side will now turn their attention towards the World Cup qualifiers back home.
“Of course in a game of T20 anything can happen. Any team can beat any team. So I feel the boys had their plans on and they were somewhere there. But I think overall I am so, so pleased with the performance of each and every individual, if you start with the bowling and fielding and batting respectively. I think what we lacked initially was the partnerships which I think showed great character in the crunch game.”
“So I am so happy and proud of the unit. And now we have T20 World Cup qualifiers happening in Oman. So the boys are ready to roar,” said Jatinder.