USA have named former New Zealand allrounder Corey Anderson as part of their 15-man squad to face Canada in the upcoming five-match T20I series at home. Anderson, 33, last played for New Zealand in 2018, as he aimed to qualify for his adopted country.
Monank Patel will continue to lead USA for the series, with the matches taking place in Houston, Texas from April 7 to 13. Aaron Jones has also been given an extension as vice-captain of the team.
The series assumes significance for the USA team because the T20 World Cup, which they will be co-hosting along with the West Indies, is coming up in June. USA also have a three-match T20I series lined up against Bangladesh in May.
“With the ICC T20 World Cup looming, this series holds immense significance for our team,” Monank said in a USA Cricket statement. “We have some new players coming into the squad, and these games will help us get the right combinations and prepare well for the World Cup.”
But despite what Monank said, there aren’t too many new faces in the squad. Monank and Jones bring a good deal of experience to the side, like Anderson, who played 13 Tests, 49 ODIs and 31 T20Is for New Zealand, whom he had first represented in 2013. Anderson was also part of the New Zealand side which reached the final of the 2015 World Cup, which they were co-hosting with Australia.
USA’s squad to face Canada also includes Gajanand Singh, Jessy Singh, Steven Taylor, Nisarg Patel, Noshtush Kenjige, Saurabh Netravalkar, Nitish Kumar and Usman Rafiq, among others. And while the likes of Andries Gous, Harmeet Singh, Milind Kumar and Shadley van Schalkwyk haven’t played international cricket, there’s a fair bit of first-class and T20 experience among them.
South Africa-born wicketkeeper-batter Gous relocated to the USA in 2021, having represented South Africa Under-19 in 2013 and having played domestically for Free State and Knights. So far, he has an experience of 60 first-class games, 57 List-A matches and 46 T20s. That includes a stint for Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in this year’s ILT20 in the UAE. He will be qualifying to play for USA in April, and thus will be eligible to play in the T20 World Cup.
The matches against Canada will be played at the Prairie View Cricket Complex, with the USA team reaching the venue by April 1 to start their preparations.
At the T20 World Cup, both Canada and USA are in Group A, along with India, Ireland and Pakistan, and will play the World Cup opener against each other on June 2 in Dallas, Texas.
