Corey Anderson, who played the ODI World Cup (in 2015) and the T20 World Cup (in 2014 and 2016) for New Zealand, will now play the 2024 T20 World Cup, in June, for USA, co-hosts for the tournament along with the West Indies after being named in the squad of 15 on Friday.
Ali Khan, who hasn’t played a T20I since July 2022, has been included too, while Shayan Jahangir has also been brought in. Making way for them from the squad that beat Canada 4-0 in a five-match T20I series in April are Gajanand Singh and Usman Rafiq. Gajanand had scored just a solitary run in two outings against Canada, while Rafiq gave away 24 runs in two overs in his only game in the series.
Monank Patel and Aaron Jones, the captain and the vice-captain for the series against Canada, have been retained in the positions.
Against Canada, Monank was USA’s best batter with 120 runs in three innings at a strike rate of just under 170, while Andries Gous and Steven Taylor topped the 100-run mark, and Nitish Kumar hit a 38-ball 64 in his only innings, and Anderson and Harmeet Singh chipped in with handy runs in his two innings. With the ball, Harmeet and Shadley Van Schalkwyk picked up six wickets each, with Noshthush Kenjige and Saurabh Netravalkar were among the wickets too.
Ali Khan, with the experience of playing in T20 leagues around the world – including at the CPL, the PSL and the ILT20 – hasn’t played a lot of T20I cricket, just six, to go with 15 ODI appearances. His experience would likely have made the selectors opt for him considering the stage.
Jahangir, who started his playing career in representative cricket in Pakistan, the country of his birth, has played 12 ODIs for USA, the last of them in July last year.
Milind Kumar, who was a former Delhi batter and finished as the top run-scorer in the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy – India’s premier first-class tournament – representing Sikkim, is also a notable name to be included in the squad.
USA will play the inaugural game of the World Cup, against Canada in Dallas on June 1.
USA squad for T20 World Cup 2024
Monank Patel (capt), Aaron Jones (vice-capt), Andries Gous, Corey Anderson, Ali Khan, Harmeet Singh, Jessy Singh, Milind Kumar, Nisarg Patel, Nitish Kumar, Noshtush Kenjige, Saurabh Netravalkar, Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Steven Taylor, Shayan Jahangir
