As Scotland prepares for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Paisley’s Hamza Tahir will be doing all he can to help his country cause a few upsets at the major tournament.

The likes of the heavyweights of Australia, England, India, and New Zealand will have their eyes on the business end of the competition. But Scotland will be happy to go under the radar and might well cause a few problems for the big hitters in the UAE and Oman.

Tahir Looking to Make the Cut

Left-arm bowler Tahir has been named in Scotland’s provisional 17-man squad for the highly anticipated tournament, in which New Zealand are the 6/1 favourites in the cricket betting with Betfair. It’s fair to say not many will be giving Scotland much of a chance in the cricket betting tips for the tournament in the UAE and Oman, but the Scots have caused upsets in the past. Tahir will be focused on making the cut for the final 15-man squad, while two reserve players will also be heading out for the major event over October and November.

The 25-year-old made his Scotland T20 debut against Pakistan in June 2018, and has since gone on to play 11 times for his country in the shortest format of the sport. The Paisley native will be looking to help Scotland reach the Super12 stage of the highly-anticipated World Cup this autumn. The Scots start their qualifying journey on October 17 when they face Bangladesh in Oman. Head coach Shane Burger will then see his side take on Papua New Guinea on October 19, before a final qualifier against Oman two days later.

Scots Not to Be Taken Lightly

A top-two finish in qualifying would see Scotland progress through to the group stages of a T20 World Cup for just the third time in their history. Wins over the more established cricket nations have been few and far between, but the Scots can look back to some landmark results. Scotland managed to beat England in an ODI encounter in Edinburgh back in 2018. They came out on top by six runs at The Grange, to record what was a second victory against a full member of the ICC. Scotland’s first win over a full ICC member came the year previous, with another landmark victory in Edinburgh against Zimbabwe. That match required the D/L method to be used with rain affecting play, but it still went down in the books as a Scotland victory.

Burger’s side certainly won’t be counting on rain to help them out on their qualifying journey in the UAE and Oman in October. The side will be determined to make the group stages on merit, and with Tahir preparing for his first T20 World Cup, Paisley will be watching to see what he and Scotland can achieve.