Cricket: Nigeria unveil squad for ICC U-19 World Cup qualifier

The Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) has announced a 14-man Junior Yellow Greens squad for the 2028 ICC U-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Africa Qualifier Division 2, with the team set to battle for a place in the next stage of the qualification campaign in Rwanda.

The continental qualifying tournament will take place from 9 to 15 August, during which Nigeria will compete against Uganda, Ghana, hosts Rwanda, Mozambique, and Sierra Leone for promotion to Division 1 and to keep alive their hopes of reaching the ICC U-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup.

The squad will be captained by Rahmon Ali, who leads a youthful side assembled after an extensive nationwide selection exercise conducted by the federation’s technical crew.

According to the NCF, the final squad emerged after a rigorous three-phase screening process held in Abuja and Lagos, where players were evaluated on their technical ability, discipline, attitude and capacity to perform under increasingly competitive conditions.

The selection exercise began with an initial training camp in Abuja, where standout performers from the National U-17 Championship were invited for assessment.

The second phase, also held in the nation’s capital, saw the coaching staff integrate emerging U-17 talents with more experienced members of Nigeria’s age-grade cricket programme to assess combinations and squad balance further.

The final stage of the selection process took place in Lagos and proved to be the most demanding, with the coaching crew trimming the group to the final 14 players who will represent Nigeria at the continental qualifier.

Alongside captain Ali, the squad includes Ismail Abdullahi, Andrew Abah, Precious Ayeni, Daniel Ayodele, Kenneth Boniface and Princewill Chigozie.

The remaining players are Bright Edem, Peculiar Egemasi, Okasha Isiyaku, Emmanuel Oladejo, Hossana Omokhobhio, Pelumi Orimolade and Folajimi Owolabi.

With the final preparations now underway, the technical crew is focused on moulding a balanced squad capable of not only securing promotion but also competing strongly in the next phase of qualification.

Head coach Daniel Gim said the team’s ambitions extend far beyond the Division 2 tournament.

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“Our aim is to build a robust team with a strong batting line-up that can compete beyond this qualification. The objective isn’t just to qualify from Division 2; our ambition is to progress through Division 1 and earn a place at the ICC U-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup.”

Nigeria will open their campaign against Uganda on Sunday, 9 August, knowing a strong start could prove crucial in the race for promotion.

At the end of the tournament, the top three teams from the Division 2 qualifiers will advance to Division 1, where they will join Kenya, Namibia and Tanzania in the next stage of the qualification process as the race for places at the 2028 ICC U-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup gathers momentum.

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