The 15-member United States of America (USA) squad for the forthcoming Twenty20 International (T20I) series against Canada includes left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh and batsman Milind Kumar. On April 7–13, they will play five Twenty20 Internationals in Houston, Texas. The captain of the team in the upcoming series will be Monank Patel, with Aaron Jones acting as his deputy. With the USA making their tournament debut, the upcoming series will serve as practice for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup later this year.
Notably, it was probable that both players would be chosen for the eagerly anticipated ICC global event, which is set to take place in the USA and West Indies starting on June 1. The USA vs. Canada match will be the main event’s opening match, held at Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas.
In 2012, Harmeet, a former left-arm spinner for Mumbai and Rajasthan Royals, was a member of the Indian Under-19 World Cup-winning side in Australia. Not present was Unmukt Chand, his captain for the Indian team, who had relocated to the United States to play Major League Cricket (MLC). Corey Anderson, a former all-rounder for New Zealand, has been picked in the interim.
In order to play cricket in the USA, Harmeet left Indian cricket in 2021. The 31-year-old, who moved to the US, inked a three-year deal to play for the Seattle Thunderbolt in Minor League Cricket (MLC), and he helped the team win the MiLC title in 2022. He started playing for Pravin Amre’s MLC team, the Seattle Orcas, in 2023. Milind, a former hitter for Delhi and RCB, has excelled in both the MLC with the Texas Super Kings and the MiLC.
How does former cricket player Corey Anderson of New Zealand qualify to play for the USA?
Before relocating to the USA to play professional cricket, Corey Anderson had made appearances for the Kiwis in 13 Tests, 49 ODIs, and 31 T20Is. The 33-year-old moved to the US in 2020, and since then, he has performed admirably on the national team. As a result, he gained the right to represent the USA in 2023.
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According to ICC regulations, a male player who wants to be eligible to play for an Associate or Affiliate Member cannot have played in an international match for any other National Cricket Federation (regardless of that organization’s membership status) during the four years that have just passed. However, if the player wants to play for the Associate or Affiliate Member he played for before becoming eligible to play for a Full Member, the four-year standout period mentioned in Article 3.3.2 will be shortened to two years.
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