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Cricket T20 World Cup: Uganda enjoy ‘dream come true’ as they prepare to face New Zealand, West Indies in tournament

  • Indian Abhay Sharma was named head coach of the men’s national team less than a month ago
  • Team captain Brian Masaba is skipper with the second-highest number of wins in T20 internationals

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Uganda’s national cricketers are preparing to compete in the World Cup for the first time in their history. Photo: AFP

Uganda are training hard for their first-ever Twenty20 World Cup, a “dream come true” in a nation where cricket is overshadowed by football as the most popular sport.

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But they have a tough road ahead in the tournament, which is being jointly hosted by the United States and West Indies and runs from June 1 to June 29.

Among their opponents are New Zealand and West Indies, as well as Afghanistan and Papua New Guinea, with the fixtures being held in Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Time is not on their side – it was barely a month ago that the Uganda Cricket Association named Indian former first-class cricketer Abhay Sharma as the new head coach of the men’s national team.

“Mostly we don’t have time to relax. It’s going to be high-intensity preparations,” Uganda captain Brian Masaba said.

Uganda’s players see qualifying for the Cricket T20 World Cup as a ‘dream come true’. Photo: AFP
Uganda’s players see qualifying for the Cricket T20 World Cup as a ‘dream come true’. Photo: AFP

The 32-year-old Masaba has already earned an accolade for his own performance.

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