The Bahrain cricket team is buoyant in the lead-up to their opening qualifying fixture for the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup next week, their bowling coach said yesterday.
“The players are positive and have been training hard,” Prachur Shukla said on the phone from Oman where the ICC’s Global Qualifier A tournament is being held. Only the two finalists, from the eight teams divided in two groups, will make the journey to the World Cup hosted by Australia in October-November this year.
A team composed of amateurs who only get to practice and play on the weekends, Bahrain chose to travel to Oman about two weeks in advance of their first match to allow their players the chance to acclimatise to the conditions.
Development
The extra time had helped, Shukla said, because, just three days ago, they had been able to play in a practice match against Canada, a more experienced side that has, over various stages of its development, seen action at cricket’s premier global tournaments before.
“It was a good match,” Shukla said. “Apart from providing us with valuable game practice, the match allowed us to gauge how match-ready our players are. I am happy to report that they looked the part: they competed well against a side that has had long-term access to facilities and resources that we still lack at present.”
Canada batted first, and scored an imposing 199 in their allotted 20 overs, Shukla said.
“But our batsmen fought back well, led by captain Sarfaraz Ali who scored a half-century and we finished with 161, losing by only 38 runs,” he added. “If we hadn’t dropped four or five catches, we would probably have won!”
The experience augured well for the team’s prospects in their opening match against Germany, scheduled for Friday, Shukla said.
“Game time, even if it’s in a practice match, is invaluable,” he stressed. “These boys have been training hard in the nets, on the outfield – but to actually be able to compete against a team that has several players with international exposure provides a different dimension. We’ll try to organise at least one more practice match before we take on Germany, so that we can be battle-ready.”
Germany, like Bahrain, has part-time players: cricketers who juggle jobs with their passion for the game so Shukla expects the game to be more or less evenly matched.
But it is the following fixture, the very next day, against Ireland, a full ICC member nation, that will provide the real test.
Ireland are on the ascent in both ODIs and T20s and on a high after beating the West Indies 2-1 in a three-match ODI series recently in the Caribbean. Plus, some of their players regularly participate in various T20 leagues around the world and have played in teams that include some of the best players in the international game.
But Shukla feels that a contest in cricket, much like any other sport, depends on how a team or individual performs on the day itself – not on an opponent’s reputation.
“Our approach to that game is simple: we will train hard and play harder but, at the end of the day, it will be just another game of cricket for us,” he said. “Again, Ireland are much more experienced than us but we have seen major upsets occur before in this sport.”
Bahrain’s last game against the UAE takes place on February 21. Shukla said the Bahrain team will not take their Arabian Gulf neighbours lightly.
“The players will apply themselves as they have been doing during training and in the practice match against Canada,” he added.
The team will be boosted two days before their first match by the arrival of their head coach, former India international, Aashish Kapoor, who couldn’t leave Bahrain for Oman with his side because of a Covid-19 diagnosis. Kapoor has recovered since and travelled to India to take part in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) player auction for the Gujarat Titans, one of two new teams to join the league this year.
adnan@gdn.com.bh
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