(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) In a key milestone for cricket in the sultanate, Oman is set to be granted associate membership status by the ICC at the world body's Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Melbourne, Australia on Thursday.
According to senior Oman Cricket (OC) officials, Oman's promotion from its existing affiliate status to associate membership is set to be 'endorsed' by the ICC's Chief Executives' Committee (CEC) at a meeting on Wednesday and the ICC board is expected to 'ratify the endorsement' at the AGM.
Pankaj Khimji, a senior OC board member, told Muscat Daily over phone from Melbourne on Tuesday, ''Oman is now just one step away from the ICC's associate membership. It will be completed on Thursday with the ratification process.'' The ICC currently has ten full members (Test-playing nations), 37 associate members and 59 affiliate members.
Madhu Jesrani, OC secretary, said, ''It's a wonderful development for Oman. Most of the things are done. At the meeting on Thursday, it will be official.''
Cutting down on ‘imported cricketers
In what would be a complete shift from its current stance, OC wants to build a national team of ‘indigenous cricketers' and discontinue ‘importing' overseas players to represent Oman in the coming years, said Khimji. ''We cannot be importing be importing players to come and play for Oman,'' Khimji said.
''We cannot be doing that - that's not our future.'' Khimji said that with former Sri Lankan Test star Duleep Mendis in charge as OC's Cricket Development Officer, the sultanate's board will look towards strengthening its U13, U16 and U19 programmes in the coming years. According to him, the aim is to build 'a team of indigenous, solid nature'.
Khimji also admitted that the ICC associate status will apply 'added pressure' on the national team to perform well in international tournaments.
How Oman will gain as associate member
As an ICC associate member, Oman will be eligible to participate in more competitive international one-day and Twenty20 tournaments, especially in the higher bracket of the ICC World Cricket League (WCL).
Also, the sultanate will be eligible for heftier grants from the ICC for infrastructure development
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.