Born in Papua New Guinea in 1987,[3] Assad Vala first represented Papua New Guinea at the under-19 level, playing in the 2004 Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh.[4] He made his debut for the senior side at the 2005 ICC Trophy in Ireland, where he played seven List A matches.[5]
He returned to the under-19 level later in the year, playing in the Africa/East Asia-Pacific Under-19 Championship at Willowmoore Park in Benoni, South Africa. In 2006, he played for a combined East Asia Pacific team in the Australian National Country Cricket Championship, and did so again in 2007 and 2008.[4]
In February 2018, the International Cricket Council (ICC) named Vala as one of the ten players to watch ahead of the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament.[11] In June 2018, at the Papua New Guinea Cricket Awards, he won the Tony Elly Medal for the best male player.[12]
In June 2019, he was selected to represent the Papua New Guinea cricket team in the men's tournament at the 2019 Pacific Games.[17] In September 2019, Vala was named as the captain of Papua New Guinea's squad for the 2019 United States Tri-Nation Series.[18] In the final match of the series, against Namibia, he scored his first ODI century, with 104 runs from 114 balls.[19]
In September 2019, he was named as the captain of Papua New Guinea's squad for the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament in the United Arab Emirates.[20][21] Ahead of the tournament, the ICC named him as the key player in Papua New Guinea's squad.[22] He was the leading run-scorer for Papua New Guinea in the tournament, with 197 runs in eight matches.[23]
In November 2020, Vala was nominated for the ICC Men's Associate Cricketer of the Decade award.[24] In August 2021, Vala was named as the captain of Papua New Guinea's squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.[25]