Oman's improbable journey to India

From 29th in the world to beating Ireland on their World T20 debut in Dharamsala, Oman's success over the last year is no mirage.

They were all lined up like thoroughbreds bucking against the starting gate. They knew the shot was coming and they wanted to be ready.

Bang. Zeeshan Siddiqui pummels the ball over mid-off and the race was on. Oman may have justqualified for the World T20, but there was a small matter still to be decided.

"I think I was the first one to run into the ground when we won. Everyone was waiting [on the boundary] but I was the first one to go and lift the batsman up," beams Sufyan Mehmood. "It was the best moment of my life."

Oman have barely broken into international cricket. The World T20 qualifier in July 2015 was their first-ever televised match. They play one-dayers in Division Five of the World Cricket League, while their opponent Namibia had already been to a World Cup in 2003. David would have felt like Goliath standing next to them.

But underneath it all lay the biggest significance for Oman. In Mehmood. He is the only player in the squad at the World T20 who is native to the Gulf state. He is 24 years old and the promise he shows as a fast bowler should give him several opportunities at a repeat of that winning feeling. That bodes well for Oman. Homegrown talent is invaluable, especially for an Associate nation where football's pull makes cricket a distant afterthought.

Mehmood, however, had a leg up. His father had moved to Oman 40 years ago and married a woman from Pakistan. "Cricket is in our blood," he says.

Perhaps more kids from Oman might also pick up the bat and ball if his and his team's success in recent times - they beat Hong Kong on their Asia Cup debut in February - continues. Mehmood drew his inspiration from wanting to pick up a different object too, a rather coveted one. "When I started playing cricket, my goal was always to play in a World Cup."

Mehmood began his career playing school cricket. Then he made the cut for Oman Under-17s in November 2008, their U-19s in April 2009, then a national camp and voila, he was in the senior team too by the following November. He introduced himself in the Asia Cup in 2016 with a giant no-ball, but with the next one, he broke Rohan Mustafa's bat. Perhaps Mehmood misunderstood the meaning of "free hit."

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It was as recently as 2007 that Oman had to make do with pitches made of cement because they didn't have a turf one. Former captain and current team manager Jameel Zaidi takes pride in the fact that the team has played four World Cup qualifying tournaments - for the 50-over version in 2005 and 2009 and the 20-over version in 2012 and 2015 - with such limited infrastructure. They are in the main event now, having punched well above their global ranking that sat at 29 in July.

And they have a turf strip now, surrounded by a lush green outfield and recently added floodlights, at the Ministry of Sports complex in Al Amerat, about 20km away from the centre of Muscat. Only the premier division gets to play their matches there but there are plans to build a second turf ground at the complex to help the other domestic teams get a taste of conditions that prevail in international cricket. According to their official cricket website, there are five all-Omani teams in domestic cricket. Overall there are 58, and they are grouped into divisions from A through J.

Munis Ansari is among those who have played at the highest level in Oman for years now. With a slingy action like Lasith Malinga - "I've had it since my childhood," he insists when the comparison is made - he had been in line for a national cap in 2012, but had to wait a year longer to complete the mandatory four-year residence period put forward by the ICC.

Born in Sehore, Madhya Pradesh, Ansari reckons he could have played for India if he'd had some help in his formative years. "I used to bowl 140-plus," he says, but his hopes waned when he couldn't find a place in his state team for the Ranji Trophy. So he moved to Oman for work as the sales supervisor at Enhance Group of Companies.