Oman can beat any side on their day in T20 World Cup: Duleep Mendis

Former Sri Lanka captain Duleep Mendis, a pioneer of batsmanship in the island nation, is currently guiding Oman, who will compete in the 2024 T20 World Cup in June.

Mendis, now 71, played 24 Tests and 79 ODIs, and was the first Sri Lankan batsman to score two centuries in the same Test (against Sunil Gavaskar-led India in Chennai in 1982). In fact, all his four Test tons came in matches drawn by Sri Lanka, a huge achievement for a country new to Test cricket then.

The former right-handed batsman, known for his dashing stroke-play, has been imparting cricket skills to Omani team even while looking at the development of indigenous Omani cricketers. In an exclusive interview with the www.theflyslip.online, Mendis spoke about cricket in Oman and his role in its development.

Q. How has been your experience of working with Oman cricket, especially grooming the locals?

A. Being in Oman and getting involved with Oman cricket was a new experience for me. But it was really fascinating and encouraging, especially to work with the Oman cricket board (Oman Cricket), headed by his excellency Pankaj Khimji and secretary Madhu Jesrani and all the other board members, the treasurer, Alkesh Joshi. It was fascinating because they all give encouragement to forge ahead, especially when it comes to grooming the locals. It is not an easy task because as we all know, in the Middle-East (West Asia) and GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries, the culture is football. But when the country is doing well in cricket, everyone looks up to the cricketers. They want to know what the game is.

Generally, people in Oman are getting interested in cricket. Currently we have seven all-Omani teams participating in our leagues. We have instructed that teams in all the lower divisions must have at least one Omani playing in their XIs. We have coaches visiting all the government schools, all the local schools where the Omani boys study. The coaches visit them every week and we organise various tournaments so that they get interested. They are getting interested now. On top of that, we have the all-Omani T20 tournament going on currently. It has created a lot of interest among Omanis. There is lot of good cricket being played, and with that we have just initiated forming the Omani squad. We give them the same facilities like coaches, fitness, and gym. We have formed everything keeping in mind the Olympics and Asian Games. It is the locals who will be participating in that and we want them to do well. If they could do well, that will give them great encouragement.

Q. Having played at the highest level and ushered Sri Lanka into Test cricket, can you tell us what is required in a team to make it to the highest level. How long will Oman take to reach Test status?

A. If you are talking of Test cricket, it is a different kettle of fish altogether. School cricket is important. There you have the feeder, from which players come into the under-21, under-23 teams and then to the Test team. So that requires a different programme altogether. As I have said earlier, it has to start with schools, and then to under-23 or under-21 and then to the national team. Lot of coaching, grooming needs to be done. We have to introduce the longer format of the game in Oman. What we have now is 50-over cricket, 20-over cricket and T10. But if you want to go to the next level, you need to organise the longer format and that will take a little time. But I am not saying that Oman is not there. If we start off, if we initiate, then we have to first lay the foundation. We need to do proper development work to showcase that format. So that needs a lot of work, and a lot of time.

Q. Now that you have qualified, how do you plan to work towards building the team for the World Cup.

A. This is the third time we have qualified for the T20 World Cup (2016, 2021 were their previous outings). We had a very successful run in Zimbabwe during the 50-over World Cup qualifier last year. We qualified for the Super Sixes. That was some experience for the boys. Now we are in the main T20 World Cup in the West Indies. We are now working extensively towards building the team for the World Cup. We have just finished ACC Men’s T20I Premier Cup (where Oman reached the semi-final). We will tour Scotland. Lot of preparation is needed and a lot of it is going on. Whatever is needed to be at the top level, we are doing that. We have a lot of training courses. We have lot of things happening in Oman. We have hired Champaka Ramanayake, a very successful fast bowling coach, from Sri Lanka. He has been with us for some time now. He is looking after the fast bowlers. The trainers are there. We have two guys from South Africa – trainer and physio. Everything is in place and we are working extensively. In the morning, we have PT sessions. We have been having evening practice sessions, regardless of the Ramadan period. I know it was very difficult for the boys to cope with it, but we have had to manage it. Namibia will be visiting. We will play them in the T20 World Cup. Still, they will visit us. That is the modern-day cricket. We know everything about Namibia and Namibia know everything about Oman. It doesn’t mean that just because we are playing in the World Cup, we don’t have to play each other. There is nothing to hide. Especially on that particular day, whoever does well wins the match. They have very kindly agreed to play five T20 games in Oman. They will be here by the end of April. So that will be a good contest. This is the preparation we are putting in for the T20 World Cup. There is a lot of work being done.

Q. Can you name the players to watch out for or players with promise who can shine at the World Cup?

A. I hate to name the players because I don’t go for individuals. It is a team game. Sometimes when you have seven or eight batsmen, only 2-3 will perform. Everyday all players won’t perform. A set of 2-3 will perform. There are individuals who are performing extremely well. But what I want is the team to perform. Sometimes the top-order fails, the lower middle-order performs and saves the match. The bowlers will then come and perform. We have star-class bowlers. But everything has to happen on that day. When things happen together in a good way, then you can win the match. It can be any opponent. I am not concerned about the opponent. Oman are in a position where they can beat any side on their day.

Q. Can you tell us about cricketing facilities in Oman. Also, are the players professionals? What all jobs are they involved in otherwise?

A. Oman has some of the best facilities in the whole area. Two beautifully laid grounds with turf wickets. Side nets, state-of-art indoor nets, where we have two fast and two slow lanes besides three normal ones. The facilities are fantastic. Lot of people come and play here. Lot of counties come and play here in preparation for the county season. It (Oman) is one of the best I have come across [in terms of facilities]. Lot of people when they visit once, they want to come over and over again. England women’s team were here. Every year they make it a point to come here before every major tournament because the facilities are good.

As far as Oman players are concerned, they are not all professionals. They are semi-professionals. They have their jobs, most of them have their jobs besides the contracts they have with Oman cricket. They are semi-professionals but with professional attitude. That is what I am trying to build. They have played quite a lot of cricket now. So, they need to get that professional attitude. Otherwise, they cannot win matches. Oman cricketers were good, talented. But mentally, they were weak. We started building them up and we succeeded and we achieved ODI status and then we had wins against Test playing nations in 50-over cricket and T20s. That is where we started and where we ended. We have ODI status, participated in World Cup events, and ICC events. All the encouragement given has been given by the Oman cricket board. I thank Oman Cricket over and over again. This is one of the best boards I have been associated with. All what they want is cricket to succeed. They are passionate about this game. Unfortunately, what they call the father of Oman cricket, Kanaksi Khimji expired a few years ago — he was the pioneer. But now Pankaj Khimji has taken over and with all the other board directors they give all the encouragement I need. I have enjoyed my stint with Oman Cricket. I have been with them for the last 10-11 years. It has given me immense pleasure to see an Associate nation come up and do so well.

Q. How is the domestic structure in Oman?

A. We have different divisions. Quite a lot of players are involved. The Premier Division has eight teams and we have 50-over, T20 and T10 cricket. All of it is played between the months of September and April. That is the time when we can play cricket in the GCC [since it is less hot]. In the first division, we have eight teams and play tournaments on the basis of relegation and promotion. Unlike in many other countries, these [teams] are not clubs. These are companies because these players are involved with those companies. These players work for the companies and the companies put out teams. So, it is a mercantile-based tournament happening in Oman.

Q. Tell us about the Al-Amerat Ground?

A. We have installed new floodlights. Ground No. 1 has 3000-plus lux (unit of illumination) and Ground No. 2 has 2,000-plus lux. We have a newly-built grandstand which came up during the T20 World Cup. It was built in record time. We have electronic scoreboards on both the grounds.