Houston [USA], May 31 (ANI): The USA men's cricket team is all set for their maiden appearance in the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup, as they take on fellow debutants and arch-rival Canada in the tournament opener on June 1 at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
USA will co-host the ninth edition of the marquee event along with West Indies. USA are brimming with confidence on the back of two back-to-back dominating series wins against Canada and Bangladesh in the lead-up. Canada have been a strong associate nation for quite some time and an exciting clash is in the offing.
This will be a Group A fixture that features Ireland, Pakistan and one of the tournament favourites, India. Only the top two from each of the four groups will make the knockouts and both teams will look to begin with a win.
The ICC Men's T20 World Cup which starts in June, comes to a grand conclusion on 29 June 2024. A total of 20 teams, including nine associate nations and 11 ICC full-members are set to vie for top honours in the prestigious tournament.
Team USA mark their entry into the big league of international T20 cricket on the back of dominating performances and back-to-back series wins over Canada (4-0) and full ICC member nation Bangladesh (2-1).
Enjoying home advantage, Team USA have displayed the capability to spring surprises against established teams.
One of the biggest advantages that plays in favour of the USA is awareness of home conditions. Capitalizing on their familiarity with the playing conditions is one factor that teams will lack.
USA's squad for the highly anticipated tournament is a healthy mix of experience and youth. the team has been gearing up under the experienced Australian coach Stuart Law.
Their recent encounters with Canada and Bangladesh on home soil have given them much-needed match exposure in high-pressure games. They however will face challenges from Asian Giants Pakistan and India.
Some players to look out for in the USA team are opener Steven Taylor, wicket-keeper and opening batter Monank Patel who is also the skipper of the side and left-arm tweaker Harmeet Singh, who has emerged as a dangerous match-winning bowling all-rounder.
USA Squad for T20 WC 2024: Monank Patel (c), Aaron Jones, Andries Gous, Corey Anderson, Ali Khan, Harmeet Singh, Jessy Singh, Milind Kumar, Nisarg Patel, Nitish Kumar, Noshtush Kenjige, Saurabh Nethralvakar, Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Steven Taylor, Shayan Jahangir.
Reserve Players: Gajanand Singh, Juanoy Drysdale, Yasir Mohammad. (ANI)
