The distance between Ludhiana in Punjab and Oman is more than 3,000 km. When Jatinder Singh travelled alongside his family to Oman, little did he know that one fine day he would end up as the cricket captain of the national team. The experienced top-order batter, who has scored four ODI hundreds, did not even take up the game seriously in India. But destiny had something else in store for him.
“From Ludhiana to Oman, I never thought I would become a cricketer because I am not from a sports background. I have not played any cricket in India,” he said in a virtual press conference ahead of the 2025 Asia Cup. “Whatever I am today, I am a self-made cricketer. I never had any coach, I never went to academies, I didn’t have money. And my parents were not supporting me in those days. To a certain extent, they were right.
“I was not a very good student in my academics. Our motto while coming to Oman was to get an education. And to spend time together because my dad worked for the army for almost 44 years. Recently, 2-3 years back, he retired. In 2003, he made the right decision to get all of us here. We are three brothers and one sister. In 2004, I started playing cricket for my school. Eventually, I got the opportunity to play for Oman in the Under-19s. After that, I got a break in the national team in 2011. Since then, I have been a regular member. I am really grateful,” he noted.
Oman qualified for the Asia Cup via the ACC Premier Cup. In that tournament, they beat one of the favourites, Nepal, in the semifinal to reach the summit clash. Although they lost the final to the UAE, they progressed to the Asia Cup as the second-best team of the tournament. In the upcoming Asia Cup, they are all set to meet India and Pakistan in their group, two of the iconic sides of world cricket.
This is what Jatinder had to say about facing India and Pakistan. “For us, it’s a historic moment to play the Asia Cup or the very first time. It is great to share the field with the Asian giants and just test ourselves and see where we stand in the world of cricket.”
“So, it is an honour and blessing to play in the Asia Cup. Personally, the tournament itself has a huge value for us in our careers because as we started playing cricket, we always dreamt of playing against these big giants in the cricketing world,” he said.
Right-arm medium pacer Sufyan Mehmood chipped in by saying, “Every moment in this match will be historical for us. In terms of preparation, when you go to such matches, you have to be fearless because you have nothing to lose. To showcase your talent, you have to remove the fear factor. Hopefully, we can give both sides a tough time.
“Hopefully, it won’t be an easy cakewalk for them. You never know, if you play good cricket, and the way we are playing right now, I am really positive that we can upset one of the sides. I think it’s a huge statement. But yes, I think if we keep playing well, we can create an impact in this tournament. So, we are positive about it,” he pointed out.
Jatinder then shared fond memories of meeting Indian players during net sessions. He also talked about how he would like to pick the brains of Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma in order to improve his batting skills. “In fact, we had a practice 2-3 days ago, where I met Abhishek paaji, Tilak paaji, Arshdeep paaji, Shubman Gill paaji. So, I know Abhishek and Tilak bhai ji very well. Really excited and looking forward to it.
“Shubman and Abhishek are top-order batters. Obviously, while playing in the top-order, the style of playing is different compared to the middle-order. So, I would definitely be looking forward to having a chat with these guys and understanding their game, mindset, how they prepare, and execute their plans,” added Jatinder.
Incidentally, several of the players who featured in the Premier Cup are not part of the current squad – Aqib Ilyas, Naseem Khushi, Khalid Kail, Zeeshan Maqsood, Kashyap Prajapati and co. One of the reasons was a pay dispute with Oman’s cricket board. Although that dispute has been resolved now, the current set-up wears a different look.
So, what does Sufyan think about the rather new-look side? “It is a part and parcel of life. We have moved on, we are playing good cricket, we don’t want to look back. The way we are playing now, we don’t have any reason to look back. That is the best thing I can say.”
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