The Cricket Cranes are looking ahead and have started preparations for the T20 World Cup Qualifiers in 2023 with four players handed debuts on the senior team.
Joseph Baguma, Munir Ismail, and Pascal Murungi have been promoted from the U-19 team alongside Alpesh Ramjani who has been knocking hard on the door for an opportunity.
Alpesh Ramjani a left-arm spin and top-order batter has been in prolific form this season for Aziz Damani and his inclusion will give the Cricket Cranes options in the absence of Ronak Patel and Roger Mukasa.
Brian Masaba returns from a finger injury to lead the side and he will be deputized by Deus Muhumuza.
The experienced Frank Nsubuga keeps his place in the team with the young pace duo of Cosmas Kyewuta and Juma Miyagi with the responsibility to make early inroads.
Without Dinesh Nakrani and Bilal Hassun, the side will need to find new heroes to take the ball at the back end of the innings as the missing duo shared that responsibility.
Dinesh Nakrani has been a winner of the team in T20I with the bat, especially in the middle order with Riazat Ali Shah and his runs could be missed but that would also be an opportunity for one of the players to put their hand up.
Uganda is pitted in Group A alongside Botswana, Ghana, and Mozambique and they will start the campaign against Botswana.
The top two sides will qualify for the semifinals and the tournament will conclude with a final. Group B has Kenya, Cameron, Nigeria, and Malawi.
The tournament will be played in the T20 format with all the games scheduled to be T20I internationals, therefore there valuable T20 ranking points available for Uganda to pick up as they aim to get as far as possible in the global rankings.
The Team:
- Brian Masaba (Captain), 2. Deus Muhumuza, 3. Frank Nsubuga, 4. Kenneth Waiswa, 5. Cosmas Kyewuta, 6. Juma Miyagi, 7. Alpesh Ramjani, 8. Joseph Baguma, 9. Pascal Murungi, 10. Munir Ismail, 11. Fred Achellam, 12. Henry Ssenyondo 13. Riazat Ali Shah, 14. Simon Sessazi
Team Officials:
- Laurence Mahatlane – Head Coach, 2. Jackson Ogwang – Assistant Coach, 3. Shamim Nassali – Physiotherapist, 4. Steven Tusiime – Analyst 5. Jackson Kavuma – Team Manager.
The Fixtures:
| AFRICA CUP | |||
| DATE | MATCH | VENUE | TIME |
| 15/09/2022 | UGANDA V BOTSWANA | MAIN FIELD | 10:30 |
| 17/09/2022 | UGANDA V GHANA | MAIN FIELD | 10:30 |
| 18/09/2022 | UGANDA V MOZAMBIQUE | MAIN FIELD | 15:30 |