One of the most dynamic all-rounders present in the current Papua New Guinea squad, Assad Vala is an explosive left-handed batsman and a part-time offspinner. Born in PNG, Assad first represented the associate nation at the u-19 level, showcasing his skills at the 2004 U-19 World Cup held in Bangladesh.

The 34-year old made his senior debut at the 2005 ICC Trophy against the Netherlands and nine years later made his international debut. He was first capped in an ODI fixture against Hong Kong on November 8th, 2014. A year later, In June 2015, Assad scored an unbeaten 124 on his first-class debut against Netherlands in the 2015-17 ICC Intercontinental Cup.

After 13 years with the senior team, Assad was named as the skipper of PNG in August for the 2018 T20 World Cup Qualifiers and finished as the leading run-scorer with 294 runs in six innings. He came into the limelight when ICC nominated him as the ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Decade Award. Having been named in PNG’s T20 World Cup squad, the veteran would be hoping to take the associate nation to new heights in the upcoming years.

(As of October 2021)