T20 World Cup 2026: Sonavale hopes his Oman switch is a hit!

Oman’s Karan Sonavale. Pic/Sonavale’s personal collection

A few years ago, Vikhroli-based batting all-rounder Karan Sonavale, 31, was aspiring to play for Mumbai. Presently, he is gearing up for the biggest stage - representing Oman at the upcoming T20 World Cup co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, starting on February 7.

Sonavale was part of the Mumbai U-19 and U-23 probables in 2013 and 2017 respectively. "I performed well for Parel Sporting SC, MIG CC and ICICI Bank, but missed out on the Mumbai cap somehow. In 2017 and 2018, I represented Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University in an inter-university cricket tournament. Thereafter, I decided to try other options, and in 2020 I contacted former Oman cricketer Vaibhav Wategaonkar, who helped me join the Al Turky team in Oman. It was a tough call as I had to stay away from my family; even the number of matches I got was quite less, but those three-four years were challenging. Slowly, I started aiming to be a part of the Oman national team and eventually made it. Though I'm not playing for India, I'm excited to play in the T20 World Cup and want to give my best," Sonavale told mid-day from Muscat on Thursday.

Sonavale has represented Oman in three ODIs and four T20Is, but was unlucky to miss out on the recent Asia Cup. A hamstring injury kept him away from the continental event which was won by the Suryakumar Yadav-led Indian team that beat Pakistan in the final at Dubai on September 28. When asked how challenging it will be when Oman face prominent teams like Australia and Sri Lanka or even Ireland and Zimbabwe for the matter, he replied: "It's challenging, but I'm not thinking about who are the big players in the opposing team. I'm just concentrating on my process. My mindset is clear. I want to play every ball on merit."

No. 3 batter Sonavale revealed that Oman's head coach and former SL captain Duleep Mendis and his deputy and ex-Mumbai 'keeper-batter Sulakshan Kulkarni have advised him to focus on playing big knocks. "Mendis sir told me to convert good starts into big runs. Sulakshan sir also said that I should not be satisfied with just 30s and 40s," said Sonavale, who credited his Mumbai-based coaches Pankaj Sharma and Ajay Kadam for giving him the confidence to grow internationally.