A 15-member Bahrain cricket team leaves for Dubai today for a four-day training camp to prepare for the upcoming 2023 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier which begins in Nepal next Monday.
The two finalists from the eight-team tournament will head to the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup which is scheduled to be held in the West Indies and the United States next June.
Bahrain have been placed in Group B, along with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Hong Kong and Kuwait while Group A features Malaysia, Singapore, Oman and hosts Nepal.
Head coach Bhaskar Pillai told the GDN the mood in the Bahrain camp was upbeat ahead of their departure for the UAE, from where they will head to Nepal on October 28.
“We’re quite upbeat at the moment,” he said.
“I think our lads are more comfortable playing the T20 format than the 50-over one. They’re more well-equipped for, and more seasoned in, this format because they’ve played considerably more T20 cricket than One-Day Internationals.”
Bahrain are in a tough group but Pillai was confident that if his men played to their potential, they could defeat any side on their day.
“If we play to our potential, we can beat all these three teams,” he said.
“We’ve been boosted considerably by the return of Sohail Ahmed after he missed the entire Gulf Cricket T20I Championship in Qatar last month because of a hand injury he sustained in the lead-up to the competition.
“Sohail is completely fit now and raring to go. And we also have Sai Sarthak, an all-rounder who’s made the step up to the senior team from the U19 side, in the squad. Sai shows a lot of promise and this tournament will be a chance for him to gain some valuable experience.”
Bahrain did well in the latter stages of the Gulf Cricket Championship, bouncing back after two defeats to win their last three games on the trot, including a six-wicket victory over Saudi Arabia, a nerve-jangling one-run triumph over Oman and another nerve-wracking three-run win over the UAE.
“That’s all in the past,” Pillai said.
“We’re now only focused on the World Cup Qualifier. And we know that the T20 format is very tricky so one can’t really predict how things will go but, if we play as a team, stick to our basics and excel in all three departments – batting, bowling, fielding – we could go the distance.
“This is a great opportunity for the boys to showcase their talent. We stand to gain everything from this tournament – we have nothing to lose!”