Oman’s Twenty20 World Cup campaign may not have gone their way after a nine-wicket defeat by Australia left them winless in the tournament but skipper Jatinder Singh struck a philosophical tone, emphasising pride and gratitude for the experience.
Oman finished dead last in Group B with no wins in four matches, one of only three teams along with minnows Namibia and Canada who failed to register a victory at the tournament in India and Sri Lanka.
“It’s a proud moment for all of us that we got a chance to play the World Cup,” Jatinder said after Friday’s match in Pallekele.
“The result and the journey of the World Cup did not go our way, but I think everybody is grateful… We got a chance to represent Oman and we played for the country.”
The skipper acknowledged Oman’s shortcomings in preparation that hampered his team’s chances.
“Preparations were not really up to the mark we required because we lacked the full members’ support,” he added.
“We wanted to play competitive cricket, but whereas we ended up playing domestic (cricket) and the domestic level is not that up to the mark.”
Oman have now failed to win a game in the last two World Cups but Jatinder expressed confidence that the experience would serve as a foundation for future campaigns.
“Now everybody has experienced this, now we know what are the ingredients required to come to this stage,” he said.
“I’m sure that we have taken a lot of learnings from this tournament… I’m sure that the boys have taken a lot of positives from this and from the opposition as well.”
(Reuters)
