T20 World Cup chase and test for Nigerian cricketers

In reality, Nigeria stands only a 50-50 chance of picking an ICC T20 Cricket World Cup ticket at the African qualifiers that begin in Kigali, Rwanda on Wednesday, November 17, no thanks to being behind its group opponents Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. In the world ranking, Nigeria on 38th trails Uganda (27th), Kenya (29th), and Tanzania (37th). At the same time, the Yellow-Greens, as the team is known, stands a brighter chance of picking the ticket based on the players’ current form as well as the motivation that they have received from the comprehensive 5-1 defeat they handed to Sierra Leone at the Bilateral Series held in Lagos late last month.

The Yellow-Greens have evolved in the past year, thanks largely to the coaching prowess of Sri Lankan Asanka Gurusinha who took charge of the team in December 2020. Gurusinha met a somewhat dispirited team that needed quick evolution. Before his arrival, the team had not enjoyed long camping prior to competitions; only assembling a couple of weeks before and going into the competitions without as much as expecting anything out of the events. But, through the introduction of long camping, Gurusinha knew what exactly he needed to do to raise the team’s standard. He had no issues with the bowling aspect as Nigeria has been a renowned bowling nation. So, he settled for working on the batting aspect through which he has achieved commendable results to bolster the players’ confidence for competitions which he reckoned were needed to get the team ready for challenges. At the Uganda series that preceded the Lagos series, there was an improvement that suggested a promising future. But it was not until the Lagos series started that the future began to unfold and cricket enthusiasts also began to tip the Yellow-Greens for glory in the Kigali qualifiers.

Batting will still be an uphill task in Kigali, but Gurusinha has assured that his players would not falter. Wins can be achieved over Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. However, such wins can only be sweeter if Nigeria bats well as that would have shown remarkable improvement in the team.

The Nigerian team is dominated by youngsters that participated at the U-19 World Cup in 2019, with a sprinkle of experienced players from the old order. But it is not so much for the coach to worry about as the Kigali competition begins. Gurusinha says he has had several private sessions with team captain Sylvester Okpe who interestingly also captained the U-19 team to Nigeria’s first-ever World Cup in South Africa in 2019 and expresses his absolute faith in the eleven on-field players. Despite the pressure, the coach has declined listing out certain players as special, always insisting that no one player is more important than the other.

Depth is also proving to be a strength for the Yellow-Greens. A few hours after right-handed opening bowler Rasheed Abolarin cupped a knee injury that ruled him out of the Kigali qualifiers and with time ticking towards the opening game, left-handed bowler Taiwo Muhammed, left behind in Lagos as the team departed last weekend, was immediately drafted in to join the team. Both Abolarin and Muhammed were members of the historic U-19 team.

It is to Gurusinha’s credit that Abolarin had a ready replacement as the coach has made putting all the cricketers in competition shape as his cardinal principle since he was hired in 2020.

It remains to be seen what the Yellow-Greens would do on the pitch in their battle for the T20 World Cup ticket. But they are sure to put their talent on display, competing well, turning games around, bowling, and battling with increased confidence as well as rising up to be counted among game-winners.