Captains speak of their chances in ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019
- Abu Dhabi will play host to Group B matches of the 14-team tournament from 18 October
- Photographs and videos of the media conference available on the ICCOnline Media Zone
Gary Wilson of Ireland, Zeeshan Maqsood of Oman, Ahmed Raza of the United Arab Emirates, Aizaz Khan of Hong Kong, Navneet Dhaliwal of Canada, Charles Perchard of Jersey and Ademola Onikoyi of Nigeria spoke about their preparations for the tournament and how qualifying for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia would be a significant and pivotal achievement for them.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2019 is being held in Abu Dhabi and Dubai with the teams fighting for six places in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020 to be held in Australia next year.
Canada captain Navneet Dhaliwal:“We really love the facilities that have we have been provided with here. Needless to say, it will be massive for Canada to qualify from here.”
Hong Kong captain Aizaz Khan:“We have a very young squad - and thus the game excitement is palpable in the dressing room. Last years Asia cup performance boosted our morale and we look to extend our special connection with the UAE.”
Ireland captain Gary Wilson:“We are here to compete at the world stage. We have a great record in the Middle East and the boys are looking forward to a great tournament and ensure we finish right at the top again.”
Jersey captain Charles Perchard: ““For a small country like ours, it’s fantastic to have reached so far - it’s a great opportunity as professionals to showcase talent on the world stage and we hope to make friends and family proud with our performances. It would be one of the biggest moments in our country’s sporting history if we qualify to be honest.”
Nigeria captain Ademola Onikoyi:“This tournament provides us with a great opportunity to qualify for a World Cup in a sport which is still in its nascent stages of development in our country. Our juniors also have qualified for the U19 World Cup - so if we manage to do the same, it will set the right tone for the development of Cricket in Nigeria.”
Oman captain Zeeshan Maqsood:“Our dream is to qualify for the World Cup next year and I feel we have had the right kind of preparation for that. We come to this tournament having won a bunch of matches and we will be looking forward to take forward the momentum.”
UAE captain Ahmed Raza:“Firstly, I want to welcome all other teams here - I feel we are all looking forward to an exciting tournament. We have the added aspiration of lifting the cup at home, but I don’t think that will bog us down - we are confident and hopefully that will show when the matches start.”
The practice matches will start tomorrow, with Kenya playing Jersey and Bermuda playing Nigeria in the two games in Abu Dhabi.