Tikolo sets title target as top-ranked Uganda head to Abuja
UGANDA head coach Steve Tikolo said his side are going to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Sub-Regional Africa Qualifier C in Abuja to win the tournament, not only to qualify.
The qualifier runs from October 20 to 27 in Nigeria’s capital. Uganda are ranked 21st in the world, the highest of the six teams in the field. Tikolo, a former Kenya captain, said the squad have set the title as their goal.
“I believe we are the number one ranked team in this tournament,” Tikolo said in an interview with Kakowo Sports.
“So for us, we want to go there and win the tournament, not only qualify but win the tournament. And we’ve spoken about it as a team and everybody is aware of that goal, but we don’t want to look further ahead. Once we get there, we’ll take it one game at a time.”
He also cautioned against underestimating any opponent in the shortest format.
“It’s a T20 tournament, you don’t want to take anybody lightly. So we’ll make sure that we cover all our bases in batting, bowling and fielding,” he said.
Uganda’s campaign starts against Zambia on Tuesday, 20 October. They play Lesotho the next day. After a day off, they return to Pitch 2 to face Gambia on Friday October 23 and play Mozambique there on Saturday morning.
Their last group game is against hosts Nigeria on Pitch 1 on Sunday October 25. With a home crowd behind Nigeria, it could be Uganda’s toughest test of the week.
Riazat Ali Shah captains the 14-man squad, with Kenneth Waiswa as his vice-captain. Charles Musemeza and Cyrus Kakuru are the two wicketkeepers. The squad also includes Robinson Obuya, Alpesh Ramjani, Gerald Olipa and Juma Miyaji.
Uganda squad: Riazat Ali Shah (captain), Kenneth Waiswa (vice-captain), Robinson Obuya, Raghav Dhawan, Gerald Olipa, Sumeet Verma, Alpesh Ramjani, Pius Oloka, Anas Baig Mirza, Charles Musemeza (wk), Cyrus Kakuru (wk), Juma Miyaji, Joseph Baguma, Enock Kasaija.
