T20 WC: Vice-captain Aqib Ilyas wants Oman to be at their best

Al Amerat [Oman], October 17 : Oman vice-captain Aqib Ilyas wants his side to showcase their rapid improvement to a global audience as they open the ICC men's T20 World Cup against Papua New Guinea.
Oman made their own T20 World Cup bow in 2016, beating Ireland in their first game, but Aqib insists the team is a totally different proposition to the team that was seen five years ago.
"There is a huge difference now. We have some young talent in the team and the players have gelled properly, we have been playing together consistently for four or five years," said the top-order batter in an ICC release.
"There is a lot of unity in the team and our fitness has improved. We are mentally really strong and we have brought some coaches in who have helped us in this aspect.
"There was a time when bowling and fast bowling was the only strength of the Oman team. Now I feel we are doing well as a whole unit," Aqib added.
Oman will fire the starting gun on the seventh edition of the tournament when they face debutants PNG at Al Amerat on Sunday.
"Our fielding has improved, our batting is now up to the mark and our bowling is still strong. This team is much better than the one in 2016 and we have raised the bar," said Aqib.
Returning to T20I action for the first time since February 2020, Oman suffered a pair of defeats to Sri Lanka and the Netherlands in warm-up matches.
But a 32-run victory over Namibia helped them build momentum for an opener in which they must be considered favourites.
Oman has beaten PNG in all four of their previous meetings, all coming in the ODI format, but Aqib is guarding against complacency.
"All the games are important for us, whether it's PNG or Bangladesh because all teams have done really well to reach here," he said.
"We've played a few ODI matches against them and won all of them, but in T20s we haven't played them in a long time.
"They will give their best on the field, and so will we. Although we have the upper hand in the last few games, we use hope to continue the winning streak," Aqib added.
One of two teams, along with Namibia, making their debut in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, Papua New Guinea have been acclimatising to conditions in the UAE and Oman for longer than any other nation.
They lost to Namibia and Scotland in warm-up fixtures but with the support of their entire country, captain Assad Vala is relishing the opportunity.
"Most people will say it's just another game, but it's not to us. It's our first ever World Cup, so the approach is going to be different," said Assad Vala.
"It has been tough to deal with COVID-19, but we have to accept that and move forward.
"We have prepared well, we've been here a month longer than other teams and have played a lot of warm-up matches. I couldn't have asked for better preparation than this," he added.
PNG are well aware they won't have the backing of the crowd at the Oman Cricket Academy and hope to play party poopers.
"They're a really good side - they are well discipline and well drilled," said Vala.
"We've done some homework and hopefully we can put them under pressure. It's a home game for them, so everyone will be behind them.
"We'll need to be up and about and have a lot of energy around the group. We just have to focus on ourselves and what we do well out in the middle," he signed off.