The Qatar national team will be heading to the 2017 World Cricket League Division 1 Championship, an International Cricket Council (ICC) event, in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Ahead of the prestigious tournament, which will be held from April 20 to May 2, Qatar Cricket Association (QCA) hosted a friendly match to assess the national team’s preparations at the Asian Town Cricket Stadium.
The 50-over-a-side match was played against HBK XI, with both the sides putting up a good show.
The national team gained some valuable batting practice against HBK bowlers, who recently joined the team from Sri Lanka.
QCA president Yousef al-Kuwari, who witnessed the match, spoke to the national team players after the first inning and praised their performance.
He also wished the Qatar team good luck ahead of their departure on Sunday. The QCA president promised to extend all possible help to the national team so they can prepare and play well, while keeping the national flag flying high.
Also present at the match were QCA Operations manager Manzoor Ahmad, national team head coach Abdul Rehman Chouhan, assistant coach Shamsuddin, team physio Mohamed Jahangir, Domestic Cricket head Gul Khan Jadoon, Technical Committee head Syed Hassan Raza and School Boys Cricket head Amin Ul Islam.
Apart from Qatar, the other teams participating in the tournament are Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, China, Bhutan and hosts Thailand.
Inam Ul Haq will lead the Qatar team, with Mohamed Rizlan as his deputy. Other members of the team are Awais Mali, Khadeer Mohamed, Iqbal Choudhary, Khurram Shahzad, Qalandar Khan, Mohamed Nadeem, Kamran Khan, Tamoor Sajjad, Zaheeruddeen Ibrahim, Mohamed Tanveer, Noman Sarwar and Dharmang Hasmukh.
The team will fly Qatar Airways to Thailand, and will play two warm-up matches against Bhutan (April 18) and Thailand (April 20) ahead of the tournament.
QCA assistant general secretary Eisa Ali Ghanem has been nominated as the Chef de Mission, while Ahmad will also accompany the team.
Ghanem said he is confident about the team’s performance.
“The players are keen to do well and qualify for the next stages. The way they are shaping up, it is an encouraging sign for us.”
Ahmad added: “After the strong build-up of the national team, we’re hopeful of a strong display by all the players. The player will hopefully grab the chance and try to guide the team not only in higher stages, they will help the team improve rankings as well.”
Qatar Cricket Association president Yousef al-Kuwari and other officials pose with the Qatar national team.
