USA Cricket are delighted to announce the 15 player USA Women’s squad that will attempt to qualify for a first ever T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates with the tournament running from September 16th to 25th at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium and the Tolerance Oval in Abu Dhabi.
Sindhu Sriharsha who successfully captained USA to victory at the Americas regional qualifier last year in Mexico City is named as the captain with a new Vice-Captain appointed for team USA with Geetika Kodali taking over as Sindhu’s deputy. The 15 player squad contains plenty of young players who had experience of winning the Cricket West Indies Rising Stars U19 T20 Championship in Trinidad before going on to beat the West Indies U19’s 4-1 in Florida. There are three non-travelling reserves named in case of any injuries to the squad.
Left-arm pace bowler Tara Norris, who made her USA debut in the successful qualifiers last year, is unavailable due to representative cricket commitments in England. Jessica Willathgamuwa, who was one of the stars of the Sistar Mortgage Women’s Regional and National Championships, has yet to complete her eligibility period for qualification to play for the United States so was unavailable for selection.
It is a youthful squad that has been named by USA with no fewer than seven uncapped players, many of whom starred at the Sistar Mortgage Women’s National Championships in Texas. USA Women’s National Head Coach, Shivnarine Chanderpaul is unavailable due to a prior commitment with two coaches from the Women’s domestic program in Earl Daley and Burt Cockley stepping in for the duration of the tour.
Richard Done, USA Cricket Operations Director, added, “The Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier offers a magnificent opportunity for our Women’s team to take on some of the best sides in the world with a first-ever appearance at any World Cup at stake. After a fantastic Americas qualifier effort last year in Mexico City and some highly impressive performances by our Under 19 team in the Caribbean and Florida, there is plenty of confidence in the wider Women and Girls program which is a huge focus for USA Cricket.”
“In terms of the coaching team for UAE, when Shivnarine Chanderpaul was appointed as our Women’s Head Coach, it was done on the understanding that he was unavailable due to a prior commitment. Therefore we have worked closely with Earl and Burt alongside Shivnarine during recent months, for the two coaches to step in as joint coaches for the duration of this tour. Finally, our thanks to everyone at Cricket Ireland, the KNCB, Thailand Cricket and the Emirates Cricket Board for their assistance in setting up the Quadrangular series that will precede the qualifier and help our squad have the best possible preparation for Abu Dhabi.”
Team USA Women’s Squad:
Sindhu Sriharsha (Captain)
Geetika Kodali (Vice-Captain)
Anika Kolan
Bhumika Bhadriraju
Disha Dhingra
Gargi Bhogle
lsani Vaghela
Lisa Ramjit
Moksha Chaudhary
Preeti lyenger
Ritu Singh
Snigdha Paul
Suhani Thadani
Taranum Chopra
Yashaditi Teki
Reserves:
Mahika Kandanala
Sai Tanmayi Eyyunni
Uzma lfthikar
Coaching Team: Earl Daley and Burt Cockley (in place of Shivnarine Chanderpaul)
Manager: John Aaron
Selection Panel: Ritesh Kadu (Interim Chair), Jyotsna Patel, Deepali Rokade
MATCH SCHEDULE
Quadrangular T20I Series (all games at Sevens Cricket Ground, Dubai)
Wednesday 10th September: USA Women vs Zimbabwe Women. 10am local time
Friday 12th September: Thailand Women vs USA Women. 2pm local time
Saturday 13th September: USA Women vs UAE Women. 2pm local time