Saudi Arabia on Thursday morning take on Bahrain in their opening fixture of the ICC U-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Division 2 — Asia qualifiers taking place in Oman.
The youngsters from the Kingdom will then face the hosts on Saturday, Oct. 1, before concluding their Group A matches with a fixture against Bhutan on Monday, Oct 3.
The eight-team qualification campaign also includes Hong Kong, Qatar, Singapore and Thailand, who make up Group B, and will feature 16 matches over nine days.
The top two teams will then advance to the 2023 Asia Qualifier alongside already-qualified Kuwait, Malaysia, Nepal and the UAE, with a place at the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024 at stake.
The Saudi squad landed in Muscat on Wednesday after concluding a 45-day intensive training camp in Riyadh in preparation for the World Cup qualifiers.
“We have carried out a talent hunt across the Kingdom and came up with 25 players, and coach Kabir Khan has done a good job training the boys.” said Tariq Ziad Sagga, CEO of the Saudi Arabian Cricket Federation (SACF). “The squad has an average age which is below 17, and we count on them [to be part of] future national teams.”
“We hope to qualify to the second round of the qualifications,” he added.