Papua New Guinea will be one of the teams to look for as we look forward to the ICC Men's World T20. Papua New Guinea announced their T20 WC squad recently.
Let's have a look and analyze them today.
Papua New Guinea squad: Assad Vala (c), Charles Amini, Lega Siaka, Norman Vanua, Nosaina Pokana, Kiplin Doriga, Tony Ura, Hiri Hiri, Gaudi Toka, Sese Bau, Damien Ravu, Kabua Vagi-Morea, Simon Atai, Jason Kila, Chad Soper, Jack Gardner.
This is PNG's first ICC tournament appearance or you could call it their first ICC global tournament debut where they lock horns with Oman, the co-hosts of the ICC World T20 2021 on October 17.
Papua New Guinea captain Assad Valla explains why his side is good in the T20 format. PNG on Sunday made history by qualifying for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020. More videos, photos and editorial material available on our Online Media Zone. pic.twitter.com/kvwVxPEG4a
— ICC Media (@ICCMediaComms) October 27, 2019
However, the road to the tournament was full of hurdles but Vala and co. cleared them with ease, finishing as runners-up of the Men's T20 World Cup qualifiers that took place a couple of years ago.
PNG only lost one of their six games and that was the final against the Netherlands. The skipper, Assad Vala led by example as he was PNG's highest run-getter in the ICC World Cup Qualifiers, scoring 197 runs in eight matches, while Tony Ura wasn't far away either as he finished just three runs behind the skipper.
Damien Ravu was the team's highest wicket-taker in the Qualifiers, picking 12 scalps from eight appearances. Jason Kila had the highest strike rate in the tournament (203.57) that proves that the team is not just reliant on their skipper.
Since then PNG didn't play any opponent until September as they lost to Nepal by two wickets. However, that was an ODI game.
PNG will commence their World Cup with a clash against Oman in Group B hoping to finish in the top two. They will then be playing Scotland on October 19, while their third match is perhaps their toughest, against Bangladesh, who are in the form of their lives on October 21.
Papua New Guinea were the surprise package as there were upsets galore in the T20 World Cup qualifiers đź’Ą
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) October 29, 2019
Here's what we learned from the tournament 👉 https://t.co/jrtju9WakF pic.twitter.com/NaeIcQEZWY
PNG will have to start strong and a lot of responsibility will be on the following players to take them through by stepping up on occasions that matter.
Assad Vala
PNG's skipper is a batting all-rounder and will be hoping that he performs in both departments. His numbers will be a great motivation to the rest of the team. Let's have a look at his record.
| Format | Runs | Wickets | Average | Highest Score |
| ODI | 805 | 27 | 26.83 | 104 |
| T20I | 335 | 17 | 23.93 | 53 |
Tony Ura
After Vala, the onus of scoring runs is on Ura. The wicket-keeping batsman played an influential role in PNG's performance in the qualifier tournament. His numbers speak for themselves.
| Format | Runs | Average | 50s/100s | Highest Score |
| ODI | 744 | 25.66 | 2/1 | 151 |
| T20I | 273 | 22.75 | 1/0 | 71 |
Damien Ravu
Now coming into the bowling department. Ravu's game will play a huge hand in PNG's fortunes in the tournament. Many can bat at the death but not many can bowl and defend at that time. Let's have a look at Ravu's numbers.
| Format | Matches | Wickets | Economy | Best Figures |
| ODI | 12 | 5 | 5.38 | 2/35 |
| T20I | 8 | 12 | 5.1 | 4/18 |
Ravu's numbers, especially in T20Is are brilliant. And he would be hoping that he recreates his best performances in the World's grandest T20I competition.
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