• Tournament: ILT20 Continent Cup 2024
• Teams: Uganda, Rwanda, Botswana, Nigeria
• Venue: Gahanga Stadium
• Dates: 4th – 14th December

Cricket Cranes head to Kigali, Rwanda to defend the T20 Continent Cup which they won in Nairobi, Kenya last year.

Riazat Ali Shah will lead the squad of 14 players which has only two changes from the team that competed in the Challenge League with Kenneth Waiswa and Brian Masaba making way for Joseph Baguma and Simon Ssesazi.

Ssesazi returns to the side and hopes that his time with Uganda A will help him regain his confidence. Baguma who was also with the A team in Rwanda just last week is added to the slow bowling options for the Cricket Cranes including Alpesh Ramjani, Henry Ssenyondo, and Frank Nsubuga.

The Cricket Cranes have not played a T20 tournament since the World Cup in West Indies and this will give coach Abhay Sharma a chance to look at his options, especially with the bat in the T20 format.

Raghav Dhawan and Shrideep Mangela had started to get comfortable in the top order at the back end of the Challenge League and the series will allow them to get more acquainted with international cricket.

Robinson Obuya and Ssesazi will fight to be the other opening batting option but the core for the Cricket Cranes in T20 has been a prolific middle order that has Riazat Ali Shah and Dinesh Nakrani.

Juma Miyagi and Cosmas Kyewuta are the only fast-bowling options and their potency gives Ali Shah an alternative in a team that relies heavily on its slow bowlers. Nakrani and Ali Shah can provide the slow medium pace if required. Fred Achellam was very good with the gloves and also his long-range hitting is valuable in a team that could need some nasty blows at the back end.

Uganda will come up against two teams that have also qualified for the Africa finals. Nigeria and Botswana are the last two teams to qualify for the Africa T20 finals and the series will allow each side to know how far off or close they are to each other.

Uganda ranked 22nd in the World has everything to lose compared to the sides in the series with Nigeria 36th in the World, Botswana 50th and Rwanda 63rd in the World. The series carries T20i status, so any loss to a team that is ranked lower has consequences.

The Full Team: Riazat Ali Shah (Captain), Simon Ssesazi, Dinesh Nakrani, Alpesh Ramjani, Shrideep Mangela, Raghav Dhawan, Frank Nsubuga, Joseph Baguma, Cosmas Kyewuta, Henry Ssenyondo, Fred Achellam, Robinson Obuya, Pascal Murungi, Juma Miyagi.

THE FIXTURES:

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