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Former Australia allrounder Moises Henriques will captain Portugal in their bid to qualify for the 2028 T20 World Cup, just weeks after announcing his retirement from Australian domestic cricket.
According to Cricinfo, the 39-year-old was named Portugal's captain for the men's T20 World Cup Europe Sub-Regional Qualifier C in Finland, where the team will attempt to progress through the qualification pathway for the global tournament in Australia and New Zealand. Moises Henriques, who was born in Madeira (Portugal's autonomous region), represented Australia in four Tests, 16 ODIs and 24 T20Is, earning 44 international caps. His most recent appearance for Australia came in 2021. He moved to Australia with his family as a child and went on to enjoy a lengthy domestic career with New South Wales and Sydney Sixers. He announced his retirement from Australian domestic cricket last month but intends to continue playing overseas. Henriques currently has a contract with Glasgow Cosmic in the inaugural European T20 Premier League and will now turn his attention to Portugal's qualification campaign. Portugal, ranked 37th in the ICC men's T20I rankings, will face Israel, Germany, Greece and Czechia in Group B of the Europe Sub-Regional Qualifier C between August 14 and 20. The group winner will meet the winner of Group A in the final on August 21. The overall winner will then advance to the European regional final, where Scotland, Jersey and Denmark await. The top two teams from the European regional final will progress to the global qualifier, from where teams will compete for places at the 2028 T20 World Cup. Henriques takes over the captaincy from Carlos Nunes, who remains part of Portugal's 14-member squad. Portugal have also included several players with experience in higher-level domestic cricket. Former Sussex, Auckland and Wellington wicketkeeper-batter Craig Cachopa is part of the squad, while Cameron Shekleton has represented South Africa A. Sebastian de Oliveira, who played a List A match for Gauteng alongside current South Africa batter Ryan Rickelton, and Bangladesh-born spinner Siraj Ullah Khadem, who featured on the longlist for this year's Hundred auction, are also in the squad. Portugal squad: Moises Henriques (capt), Craig Cachopa, Edward Fleming, Christopher de Freitas, Rahulkumar Hashu, Siraj Ullah Khadem, Hardeep Khuttan, Jeremy Martins, Dhavalkumar Norotam (wk), Jordan Netto, Carlos Nunes, Sebastian de Oliveira, Upen Shantu, Cameron Shekleton. Portugal fixtures: vs Israel (August 14), vs Germany (August 15), vs Greece (August 17), vs Czechia (August 20), Final (August 21). (ANI)
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