With India already through to the Super Four stage, the clash is effectively a dead-rubber, but for Oman it carries symbolic importance as they aim to display their progress against a Full Member side.
“We have a lot of respect for India as a team and the quality of cricket they bring. For us, it’s about focusing on our hard work and learning from our previous matches. We’re looking forward to playing a good match,” Shukla remarked at the pre-match press conference.
Oman have endured a tough campaign, losing both their fixtures against Pakistan and the UAE, largely due to early batting collapses. Shukla admitted that the team has been working specifically on improving their top and middle order after losing quick wickets in the powerplay overs.
“We’ve shown glimpses of quality cricket, but we’re working on ironing out our shortcomings. Our goal now is to showcase good cricket and give our fans an exciting match,” he added.
India, meanwhile, enter the game on the back of convincing victories — defeating the UAE by nine wickets in their opener and Pakistan by seven wickets in their second match. Though the result will not affect India’s standing, Oman see this as a crucial learning opportunity.
Importantly, this match will be Oman’s last against a Full Member side before they host the T20 World Cup Asia & East-Asia-Pacific Regional Qualifier next month, a tournament of significant consequence for their cricketing ambitions. For Shukla and his teammates, Friday offers both a test and a chance to grow.
India vs Oman Asia Cup 2025 Squad
India Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson(w), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jitesh Sharma, Rinku Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana
Oman Squad: Aamir Kaleem, Jatinder Singh(c), Hammad Mirza, Vinayak Shukla(w), Wasim Ali, Hassnain Shah, Shah Faisal, Jiten Ramanandi, Aryan Bisht, Shakeel Ahmed, Samay Shrivastava, Mohammad Nadeem, Sufyan Mehmood, Karan Sonavale, Ashish Odedara, Mohammad Imran, Zikria Islam, Nadeem Khan, Sufyan Yousaf.
