Desmond Iwuchukwu
As the countdown to International Cricket Council (ICC) U19 Africa Division 1 qualifier gets nearer, West African cricket giant Nigeria is determined to enact the 2019 miracle by winning the only World Cup slot in Tanzania come July 2023.
To repeat this feat, the U19 boy last Monday touched down in Mumbai, India for intense drills to surmount all the challenges their African counterparts may throw at them.
Some Cricket followers believe that the team’s 9 hours of flight and 2 hours of local trip to India is worth the trouble.
Nigeria will face Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Namibia, and Sierra Leon and the eventual champion will join South Africa and Zimbabwe who had automatic ticket to the cricket World Cup event in 2024.
According to the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF), Public Relations Officer, Musa Bodie, the federation’s strategy for the training tour is “improved skills”
“This is the same plan for the 2023 qualifiers and that has necessitated the Federation to take bold steps by sending the players and coaches on international tours ahead of the qualifiers. The Junior Yellow Greens for the first time will be touring outside the Africa Continent and India is the preferred destination for all the right reasons.
“The team will go through high-performance training and play a series of matches with selected franchise teams in Mumbai over a 2 weeks period before returning home to continue preparations.”
Nigerian boys on the tour include captain Ridwan Abdukareem, Prosper Useni, and Salau Selim. Some officials on the Nigerian entourage include Coach Daniel Gim, John Tamuno, and Joe Onoja.
