Reviewed by Michael AinomugishaUganda sports betting writer
Published 19 October 2026
Uganda are in Abuja for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Sub Regional Africa Qualifier C, where play runs from 20 to 25 October, with Riazat Ali Shah captaining a 14-man squad.
Six teams play a single round robin and the top two advance to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Regional Final in 2027, on the road to the 2028 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Tanzania, Ghana, Rwanda and Kenya have already qualified for the Regional Final. Fifteen matches are played at NCF Oval 1 and NCF Oval 2 in Abuja.
Cricket Uganda puts Uganda 21st in the ICC Men’s T20I rankings, the highest of the six participating sides, ahead of Nigeria in 40th, Zambia in 62nd, Mozambique in 81st, Lesotho in 89th and The Gambia in 95th.
The squad was flagged off at the National Council of Sports headquarters in Kampala on Friday. Milton Chebet, the assistant general secretary technical at the National Council of Sports, Anne Nankya, senior sports officer, and Evelyn Kabongerwa Shinyekwa, the chief executive of Cricket Uganda, presided over the flag off. Cricket Uganda said the team would travel on Sunday.
The fourteen
Riazat Ali Shah captains the side and Kenneth Waiswa is vice captain. The other twelve are Robinson Obuya, Raghav Dhawan, Gerald Olipa, Sumeet Verma, Alpesh Ramjani, Pius Oloka, Anas Baig Mirza, Charles Musemeza, Cyrus Kakuru, Juma Miyaji, Joseph Baguma and Enock Kasaija. Cricket Uganda list Musemeza and Kakuru as wicketkeepers.
Dinesh Nakrani and Cosmas Kyewuta are injured and Matthew Musinguzi is unavailable for academic reasons.
What Tikolo wants from Abuja
Steve Tikolo, the head coach, said the target was “to win the tournament, not only qualify. We have spoken about that as a team, and everybody understands the goal”. He added that the fourteen were picked on performances in recent assignments, including the tour of India and the ILT20 Continent Cup in Kigali.
Uganda meet Zambia, Lesotho, The Gambia, Mozambique and hosts Nigeria. They open against Zambia on Tuesday 20 October and close against Nigeria on 25 October. They made their first appearance at the T20 World Cup in 2024 and missed the 2026 edition.
