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The United States of America (USA) cricket team is ready to kickstart their campaign against the co-hosts and defending champions India at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on February 7, and the US spinner Nosthush Kenjige is excited for the campaign to start.
Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, Kenjige said, "I'll be lying if I say that I am not nervous, but let's say I am enthusiastic and nervous at the same time." The US is placed in Group A with Namibia, the Netherlands, defending champions India and Pakistan. The 34-year-old Kenjige, who bowls left-arm orthodox, has played 23 T20Is and has taken 21 wickets. The USA will play their two matches in Chennai and one match in Colombo, where pitches help the spin bowlers. On coming to India for the World Cup 2026, he said, "It's a massive moment for all of us, we are playing a World Cup here in India and we are looking forward to it. We are really excited to be here. We will be playing one of the best teams in the world. So, no better team to challenge ourselves. We are excited to see how it goes." Reacting on USA being with India and Pakistan in Group A, Kenjige said, "Personally, if you would ask me, I would have picked these teams in the group. We want to play against these two teams (India and Pakistan) because you want to challenge the best, and these two Asian countries are the best around here. Namibia and Netherlands, we play around the year. We have been doing well against them for the last couple of years. So, let's see how it goes." The US will begin their campaign against India on February 7 in Mumbai, and on playing against India, the spinner said, "My team has a lot of confidence that we can do well against any team. Of course, India are the World Champion right now, so they have a lot of players who can turn the game by themselves. If we have to name one, I think, Abhishek will be crucial for them just the way he starts. But again, we have our plans in place, and we are just looking to execute what we want to do here." This will be the USA's second T20 World Cup appearance, having earned a direct qualification on the back of an impressive Super 8 stage finish back in the 2024 edition, which included a win over Pakistan. Reacting to the playing conditions in India, Kenjige said, "We are blessed in a way that in the US itself, there are a lot of places with varying weather patterns as well. I live in Texas and it gets very hot there. We have played a lot of cricket in Dallas, in Florida, as well, where it's very humid. We play a lot in California, where it is nicer. I don't think the weather will play a part at all. But again, the conditions are different. We have been here for quite a long time now in the subcontinent, so we are getting used to the conditions. It will be a good challenge to test these wickets for the batters as well. So yeah! We are excited to play here in Mumbai." Monank Patel will be leading the USA squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, with 10 key players from the team's debut campaign back in 2024 also a part of the squad. Apart from skipper Patel, Jessy Singh, Andries Gous, Milind Kumar, Shayan Jahangir, Harmeet Singh, Nosthush Kenjige, Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Saurabh Nethravalkar, and Ali Khan are the players who will be featuring in this edition as well, as per ICC. The presence of Harmeet, Milind and Saurabh, who have played age-group/state cricket in India, will give the USA some advantage. USA Squad: Monank Patel (C), Jessy Singh, Andries Gous, Shehan Jayasuriya, Milind Kumar, Shayan Jahangir, Saiteja Mukkamala, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Harmeet Singh, Nosthush Kenjige, Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Saurabh Netravalkar, Ali Khan, Mohammad Mohsin, Shubham Ranjane. USA T20 World Cup Fixtures: February 7 - vs India in Mumbai February 10 - vs Pakistan in Colombo February 13 - vs Netherlands in Chennai February 15 - vs Namibia in Chennai. (ANI)
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