Oman T20 World Cup 2026 team preview: Squad, fixtures, probable XI, key players and tournament prediction

Oman’s T20 World Cup journey began in 2016 in India, two years after they achieved associate status. They won their inaugural match on the world stage, beating Ireland by two wickets in Dharamshala. Their second match against the Netherlands was washed out, meaning that the only chance of qualifying to the Super 10 was defeating Bangladesh. Oman lost by 54 runs (DLS method).

The next T20 World Cup was at home—originally scheduled to be held in Australia in 2020, it was postponed because of Covid-19 and eventually co-hosted by the UAE and Oman in 2021. They started strong once again, thrashing a hapless Papua New Guinea by 10 wickets. However, this was followed by defeats to Bangladesh and an in-form Scotland, eliminating Oman.

In the qualifiers for the 2022 edition in Australia, held in Oman, Ireland got their revenge on the hosts by eliminating them. Oman returned for the 2024 edition, but were dismal. The team failed to win a game and finished rock-bottom with a net run rate of -1.293. The run-up to the 2026 tournament has been better with warm-up match wins against Sri Lanka A and Zimbabwe following a strong showing in the regional qualifiers.

Squad

Jatinder Singh (c), Vinayak Shukla (vc), Mohammad Nadeem, Shakeel Ahmad, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Karan Sonavale, Shah Faisal, Nadeem Khan, Sufyan Mehmood, Jay Odedra, Shafiq Jan, Ashish Odedara, Jiten Ramanandi, Aamir Kaleem.

Fixtures

Feb 9: Zimbabwe vs Oman, Colombo

Feb 12: Sri Lanka vs Oman, Kandy

Feb 14: Ireland vs Oman, Colombo

Feb 20: Australia vs Oman, Kandy

Probable starting XI

Jatinder Singh (c), Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Karan Sonavale, Vinayak Shukla (wk), Jiten Ramanandi, Nadeem Khan, Shah Faisal, Shakeel Ahmad, Jay Odedra

Key players

Aamir Kaleem

Not so long ago, the 44-year-old was Oman’s U-19 coach. He was brought back ahead of last year’s Asia Cup thanks to strong domestic performances and responded with a 50 against India. The opener has been in fine form recently.

Nadeem Khan

The 24-year-old allrounder was vital during the qualifiers—he took 11 wickets (joint third in the qualification tournament) and scored 30* off 16 balls in a decisive match against the UAE. His left arm wrist spin could be key during the World Cup.

Jatinder Singh

The Ludhiana-born 36-year-old opener is the team’s most experienced player. He has 72 T20I caps and has impressed as captain in the last year. His adaptability and steady technique may allow him to anchor the innings, even against strong bowling attacks.

Tournament prediction

Starting against Zimbabwe four days after beating them in a warm-up match may be a psychological advantage. But, Oman will know that they conceded too many runs—187—and were somewhat lucky to get over the line, in the final over. With a better bowling performance, the team may be able to do an encore. Against Ireland, Oman have felt both the high of 2016 and the crushing disappointment ahead of 2022. The contest between the three smaller teams in this group is too close to call. Oman will have to aim to finish third and then hope that one of the big two slip up.