National cricket team off to SA for Africa T20 Cup

The national cricket team leaves for South Africa on Wednesday to take part in the second edition of Africa Twenty20 Cup organised by Cricket South Africa that runs between September 16-18.

Kenya, Zimbabwe and Namibia are the three continental teams invited to fight it out against South Africa’s franchise sides. Teams are drawn into four pools with four sides in each pool.

Kenya is in Pool B along with defending champions, Northerns, South Western Districts and Northern Cape.

Alex Obanda, a right-hand batsman, who opens batting for Swamibapa, is back in the squad. Obanda was dropped when Kenya toured Papua New Guinea in May. Missing from the squad is former national team captain, Morris Ouma, who was struggling with the bat in Papua New Guinea and upcoming all-rounder, Emmanuel Bundi.

Obanda is a formidable batsman and will be expected to open batting with Irfan Karim. The other batsmen in the side include team skipper Rakep Patel, Dhiren Gondaria, Rushabh Patel, Gurdeep Singh, Nelson ‘Mandela’ Odhiambo, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Karan Kaul and Collins Obuya. Elijah Otieno will lead bowling attack with Nehemiah, Nelson, Oluoch and  Ngoche.

The national team coach Thomas Odoyo will travel with the side with Peter Ong’ondo as his assistant. Commenting on the tournament  Odoyo said: “The tournament has come very close to the four-nation event Kenya is hosting that starts on September 20 that brings together hosts Kenya, Uganda, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.”

“If we do well in South Africa, there will be complications as we will be supposed to go back and continue with the Twenty20 event.

KENYA SQUAD
Rakep Patel (captain), Shem Ngoche, Alex Obanda, Dhiren Gondaria, Irfan Karim.

Karan Kaul, Nelson ‘Mandela’ Odhiambo, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Elijah Otieno, Lucas Oluoch, Rushabh Patel, Collins Obuya and Gurdeep Singh