Cricket Cranes in quest to return to the T20 World Cup

• Cricket Cranes Tour – South Africa: September 12-19
• T20 World Cup Qualifiers – Zimbabwe: September 21 – October 6

Cricket Cranes are chasing a second T20 World Cup appearance in Sri Lanka and India next year. The team made history by qualifying for the 2024 edition in Namibia, marking a historic moment for men’s cricket in Uganda.

The team will have to go through the whole process again when they go to Zimbabwe for the World Cup Qualifiers. Uganda is in Group B alongside the hosts Zimbabwe, Botswana and fellow East Africans Tanzania. The top two sides in each group will move on to the semifinals, but only the teams in the final earn the two slots to represent the rest of Africa.

Zimbabwe will be desperate to avenge the loss to Uganda two years ago, which earned Uganda the slot to the World Cup alongside Namibia.

Uganda will go to the Qualifiers with confidence of winning the Pearl Of Africa series that featured a strong UAE side, which Uganda defeated twice.

The team will be led by Riazat Ali Shah following the retirement of Brian Masaba, with Abhay Sharma leading the technical team.

Our team is 85 per cent ready for the task ahead. What remains is fine-tuning and ensuring belief. I don’t take pressure – I prefer to give pressure instead. I want the matches in South Africa to be high scoring. I want our bowlers to be tested under fire, and our batsmen to fully showcase their skills. That is the only way to play this game. We look forward to everything that will be put before us. It is time to work. Abhay Sharma – Head Coach, Crciket Cranes

The squad includes some new faces such as Tomar Gaurav, Joseph Baguma, Innocent Mwebaze, Sumeet Verma, Shrideep Mangela and Raghav Dhawan who were not part of the successful squad two years ago.

The roles of every player are clearly defined. The batsmen must score runs; the bowlers must operate clinically with their field sets, get dot balls and take wickets. If we all deliver individually, the team will function as a well-drilled unit. Titans and Lions will give us a tough test, the kind we need before Zimbabwe. And we count on our fans in Harare to rally behind us – because there will be no easy games, even in the warm-ups. Riazat Ali Shah – Captain, Cricket Cranes

The team will travel to South Africa to play three warm-up games against three provincial sides, and they will then shift base to Zimbabwe after a week to play two warm-up games before getting down to business starting on August 26.

The Cricket Cranes will play their first game of the qualifiers against hosts Zimbabwe in what should be a sell-out fixture.

South Africa Tour Programme
– Sept 12: Arrival in South Africa
– Sept 13: Morning training session
– Sept 14: Match vs. Titans (Morning)
– Sept 15: Match vs. Lions (Afternoon)
– Sept 16: Rest day
– Sept 17: Match vs. Titans (Morning)
– Sept 18: Departure for Harare
Tournament Warm-Up Matches (Harare)
– Sept 22: Uganda vs. Namibia
– Sept 24: Uganda vs. Malawi

Uganda Squad – South Africa Tour
Riazat Ali Shah (captain), Frank Nsubuga, Dinesh Nakrani Maganlal, Henry Ssenyondo, Alpesh Ramjani Ravilal, Robinson Obuya, Raghav Dhawan, Juma Miyaji, Shrideep Mangela, Cosmas Kyewuta, Sumeet Verma, Cyrus Kakuru, Gaurav Tomar, Joseph Baguma & Innocent Mwebaze.