The victorious PNG Barramundis returned home today, following their successful campaign at the recently concluded ICC Men’s T20 World Cup East-Asia Pacific Qualifiers in Japan, held from 8th-18th May 2026.

The tournament champions arrived at the Jacksons International Airport, where they were welcomed by their excited family members, friends, and the media.

PNG HAUSBUNG spoke to Barramundis Captain Assad Vala, who was really pleased with the team’s overall performance throughout the entire tournament especially, the senior players in the likes of Sese Bau, Tony Ura and Lega Siaka, who were all well supported by the young players.

The skipper was very impressed with the debutants in the team, and how they handled themselves in the game, by playing to the structure of the team, which helped win their matches.

“Overall, I was happy with the squad we assembled and the mixture of the players we have, and it looks really good for the future of the team as well,” said Vala.

“However, there are some areas that we need to work on. Areas where we did not do well in the tournament against tougher opponents, still need a lot of work to be done.”

He added that their focus now is to get back to training, work on areas to improve in the next coming months to get themselves prepared for the next Qualifier or any other ICC tournament.

Meanwhile, Vala mentioned that the team is still waiting on the official final standings from the tournament in Japan to confirm whether they have qualified directly for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, or if they will need to compete in another qualifying round.

The Barramundis players will now be taking two weeks break to spend time with their families before they get back into training to prepare for upcoming tournaments and matches.