Captain of Nigeria’s male senior cricket team, Sylvester Okpe, says the goal of the team ahead of the forthcoming ICC T20 Sub-Regional Qualifier is beyond the World Cup ticket, The PUNCH reports.
The Yellow Greens have been in camp since the end of October and have had their initial 20-man list pruned to 14 ahead of the qualifiers.
In a chat with The PUNCH, Okpe said the objective of the team remains unflinching.
He added that reaching the regional final as well as the World Cup will not be only a win for Nigeria, but will also propel the careers of the players.
“It’s all about qualifying for the next round. Not only to improve rankings but to also get more games as a nation and as players. So, every player understands that and I’m sure they would be supportive,” Okpe told The PUNCH.
Nigeria is currently ranked No. 43 in the world with 1482 points in the November T20 rankings.
The training camp has afforded the players to put their skills to use in front of the new head coach and high-performance manager, Steve Tikolo, who was appointed last month by the Nigeria Cricket Federation.
The Kenyan has been working with national coach Clive Ogbimi and other backroom staff.
Okpe described the new dispensation of coaching as worthwhile.
“Well, it’s been great so far, with so much being impacted already. All the players are excited already having him around and looking forward to an exciting journey with him,” the captain noted.
After their camping in Nigeria, the Yellow Greens will embark on a training tour of Zimbabwe, before proceeding to Rwanda for the regional qualifiers.
The tournament which is expected to take place from the 28th of November to the 8th of December has Nigeria drawn in group B alongside Tanzania, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Mozambique, Eswatini, The Gambia and Cameroon, with top 2 teams scheduled to progress for the next phase of qualification.
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