KARACHI: Pakistan will be banking heavily on their ‘Davis Cup experience’ when they begin the bid to regain a place in Asia Oceania Group-I by beating Oman in an away tie later this week.

With Aisam-ul-Haq on their side as well as the experienced Aqeel Khan, Pakistan are confident that they can beat Oman comprehensively in Muscat in the Group-II first round tie that is penciled in for March 6-8.

Pakistan have never played against Oman in the Davis Cup but their higher rating makes them favorites in the best-of-five encounter.

Rashid Malik, Pakistan’s coach and non-playing captain, made it clear that his charges will not be taking anything for granted.

“Davis Cup is a different ball game altogether,” he told Arab News hours before the team’s departure for Muscat from Lahore on Monday night.

“Upsets are not uncommon in Davis Cup matches which is why you have to be very careful even if your opposition is not very highly-rated,” stressed Malik, a former Pakistan number one and an ex-Davis Cupper.

But Malik was quick to point out that if his charges play to their potential, they should win the tie comprehensively at the 26-seater Sultan Qaboos Sports Centre in Muscat this weekend.

“I believe our team’s strong point is in having experienced players — Aisam and Aqeel,” said Malik. “The two have played a lot of Davis Cup matches and have won many of them for Pakistan.”

The Aisam-Aqeel duo has been representing Pakistan in the Davis Cup arena since 1998.

Aisam, 29, has played 55 Davis Cup ties, winning 39 and losing 19. The Karachi-born Aqeel has 53 Davis Cup appearances and has won 21 and lost 32 of them.

In 2005, the pair helped Pakistan to win the Asia-Oceania Group-I competition and qualify for the World Group Playoffs for the first time. Pakistan lost to Chile in the playoffs in Santiago.

Malik is hoping that Pakistan will once again regain their golden form to beat Oman, who he described as a side “that looks good on paper”.

“Oman is not a bad side,” he said. “They have a couple of pretty experienced players who look good on paper,” he added referring to the Al-Nabhani brothers — Mohammed and Khalid.

The Cairo-born Nabhani brothers have been playing at the Davis Cup level for Oman since 2000 and also regularly play college-level tennis in the United States.

Siddiq Al-Hashmi is the none-playing captain of the home side that also includes Sulaiman Al-Rawahi.

Malik said that the biggest plus point for Oman will be the home advantage.“In Davis Cup, the home advantage matters a lot,” he said.

“Oman will be playing on their favorite hard courts in familiar conditions. We will have to play well to take that advantage out of the equation.”

The tie was originally supposed to be played in Lahore but was shifted to Muscat by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) because of security apprehensions.

Malik said that his boys have recorded some very good wins in tough ties in the past and should go on to shine in the heat of Muscat.

“Players like Aisam and Aqeel have some very good Davis Cup wins. They are experienced and know how to play away ties which are almost always quite tough,” he said.

Malik pointed out that three of his boys trained for a couple of weeks in Lahore are now fully fit. Aisam missed the camp because of his commitments on the international circuit.

A victory over Oman will pit Pakistan in the last-four against the winners of another first-round tie between the Philippines and Hong Kong.