Oman captain Jatinder Singh on Friday (September 19) urged his Indian counterparts to allow his team to train in the sub-continent and help them bridge the quality gap.

Singh was speaking after Oman’s clash against India in the 2025 Asia Cup’s group stage. India won by 21 runs, but not before the young Oman side gave a good account of themselves. After the Men in Blue scored 188/8 in the first innings, Oman’s top order put up a good challenge, building up to a brilliant 149/1 in the 18th over, but collapsing when the required run-rate pressure bore on them.
 

They were helped by India’s experimental tactics, like not sending captain Suryakumar Yadav out to bat at all and using as many as eight bowlers. But at some stages, an Oman win felt like a distinct possibility.

“Well, I think if we can get India coming forward, you know, letting us make their home our home…," Singh said in the post-match press conference when asked what the bigger cricket teams in Asia can do for Oman cricket, as quoted by Cricbuzz. “If we can train there, go to the NCAs (training academies), train our skills, mental aspects, the fitness part, and play a lot of T20S with the club teams and Ranji teams, I think that will definitely help us and that will fill the gap."
 

Previously, teams from Nepal and Afghanistan have trained in India.

So fortunate that we got this platform: Singh

The Asia Cup has courted a lot of criticism, with some about its relevance apart from arranging some cricketing contact between rivals and big-ticket selling. But Singh explained it meant so much more to Oman.

“We are an Associate nation. The reality is we do not get to play with the Test-playing nations," Singh said. “So we are so, so fortunate that we got this platform to come and play here. And I am so grateful and so proud of the boys, the way they showed up the character in the current situation. So I think these kinds of tournaments, if they happen time and again, I think a larger number of Associates should be included so that they can rub shoulders and get close, fill the gap for what we have between the Test-playing nations and the Associate nations," he added.