Qatar To Host ICC Qualifying Event For The First Time

ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Oct, 2021 ) :Qualifying for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia was set to continue in Doha with five teams set to compete in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Asia A Qualifier supported by Dream 11.

Hosts Qatar were joined by Bahrain, Kuwait, Maldives and Saudi Arabia with one place in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Global Qualifier up for grabs, said a press release issued here.

It's the first time an ICC event has been staged in Qatar, with the matches to be hosted at the Asian Town Cricket Stadium.

Qatar (21) enter the event as the highest ranked on the MRF Tyres ICC Men's T20 Team Rankings, with Kuwait (27), Saudi Arabia (28), Bahrain (43) and Maldives (74) all aiming to qualify for the T20 World Cup for the first time.

In all, there will be 10 matches streamed across the event with each team to play each other once in the round-robin format. The live streaming arrangement between IMG Arena and ICC would be produced by CricClubs, with each match available to view live on FanCode in the Indian sub-continent and on ICC.tv in the rest of the world.

The event would also complete the Asia regional finals with Nepal, Singapore, UAE, Hong Kong and The Philippines already through to the Global Qualifier.

Qatar captain, Iqbal Hussain Chaudhry, said,�"The last time we played Asia qualifiers we beat higher ranked�teams�but one mishap and we didn't make it into the Global Qualifiers.�We are glad that we are hosting a major ICC�tournament�in Qatar, which is the path to Australia 2022 and we will put up a good show for our nation and cricket lovers over the globe." Bahrain captain, Anasim�Khan�said,�"It will be a dream come true to play in Australia next?year.

It is a�once in a life-time�opportunity to earn a place in a historic World Cup qualifying round.

We are a team which can bring surprises." Saudi Arabia captain,�Abdul�Waheed said, "We have come a long way in recent years and to realise our dreams we need to take one step�at a time and keep moving. We know that it will be an intense competition as other participating teams are�good. Nevertheless, we have prepared�well�and the boys are excited to give their best."� Kuwait captain, Mohammed Nawaf Mohammed Aslam�said,�"We know�its�a tough road ahead but we are preparing hard for�that.�We�have�to�win all the matches and tournaments we participate in under the ICC in order to come up the rankings and achieve the goal of being in the top 15 teams in the world." Maldives�captain, Mohamed�Mahfooz�said,�"I believe this small nation is ready to upset the big teams in this competition. We did what we could control to prepare. We had online fitness sessions and once restrictions eased we started outdoor fitness�sessions and�indoors practices. We kept the players minds always in the game until we were able to get back on the ground." Qatar Cricket Association President Yousef Jeham Al Kuwari�expressed his thrills for getting a chance to showcase his country's hosting capabilities. "Qatar has established itself as the sporting capital due to its high standards in staging events. We are delighted that we will host the Asia Group A Qualifiers for the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup from October 23 to 29.

"This is the first international cricket tournament here after the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a halt.

"We assure the ICC that we'll live up to our reputation of being a world-class host. We wish good luck to all the teams. We hope that all the teams are keen to get back to the field and will produce high-voltage action in a bid to qualify for the global qualifying stage," he said.