USA Cricket announces 14-member squad for the tri-series against Oman and Nepal

The United States of America’s men’s cricket team is all set to make a comeback at the international stage for the first time since the pandemic started. The USA Cricket announced a 14-member squad along with a traveling reserve on August 26, for their tour of Oman next month. A press release was put on their official website, in order to reveal this news. 

The USA team will travel to Oman for a tri-series with Oman and Nepal in Muscat. Ahead of the tri-series, the USA will also play two ODIs against Papua New Guinea. Only the tri-series will be part of the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2. The USA is currently placed at the second position on the points table and will be looking to solidify their place and also get past Oman, who are ranked number one at this point. 

The tour for the USA men’s side will be starting with the two-match series against Papua New Guinea, which will be played on September 6 and 9, in Muscat. Having said that, when the USA team takes the field on September 6, it will be their first appearance in international cricket in 572 days. 

This will be the first assignment for J Arunkumar since taking over as coach last year

Interestingly enough, the team’s head coach, Jagadeesh Arunkumar, will be overseeing a cricket match for the first time since taking over the role last year. Arunkumar is a former Indian cricketer, who played for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Karnataka. He and his team will arrive in Oman on September 2 and will be spending their days training at the Oman Cricket Academy grounds to get prepared for the matches, the press release informed. 

Saurabh Netravalkar will return to lead the team once again. Aaron Jones has been named the vice-captain of the 14-member squad. Kyle Philip has been named the traveling reserve for the tour and will become part of the squad in case any illness happens or a player gets injured. 

After the two matches against PNG, the USA will have a break for about three days. On September 13, they will play the first match of the tri-series against Nepal. The tri-series will be played in a double round-robin style format, with each team taking on each other twice. All the matches will be day-night games in Muscat. 

Team USA Squad:

Saurabh Netravalkar (captain), Aaron Jones (vice-captain), Abhishek Pharadkar, Dominique Rikhi, Elmore Hutchinson, Gajanand Singh, Jasdeep Singh, Jaskaran Malhotra, Karima Gore, Monank Patel, Nisarg Patel, Noshtush Kenjige, Steven Taylor, Sushant Modani, Kyle Philip (Travelling Reserve).

Team USA’s Schedule

One Day International Matches

September 6, USA vs Papua New Guinea – Muscat, 9.30am start

September 9, USA vs Papua New Guinea – Muscat, 2.30pm start (D/N)

ICC Cricket World Cup League 2

September 13, USA vs Nepal – Muscat, 2.30pm start (D/N)

September 16, USA vs Oman – Muscat, 2.30pm start (D/N)

September 17, USA vs Nepal – Muscat, 2.30pm start (D/N)

September 20, USA vs Oman – Muscat, 2.30pm start (D/N)