Suryakumar likely to play against Uganda

Suryakumar Yadav, India’s T20I captain, is likely to turn out for Triumph Knights Mumbai North East in its T20 fixture against the Uganda national cricket team here on Thursday.

Uganda will conclude its fortnight-long exposure tour of Mumbai with the last of its four T20 matches against franchises set to participate in the upcoming T20 Mumbai League, scheduled to begin on June 1.

“We are informed that Suryakumar is likely to play the match. It will be a major boost for the visiting Uganda cricketers as well as the local cricketers he will be playing with in the T20 Mumbai,” said Unmesh Khanvilkar, secretary of the Mumbai Cricket Association.

Khanvilkar and MCA president Ajinkya Naik also announced on Tuesday that the MCA and the Uganda Cricket Association (UCA) have entered into a five-year reciprocal exposure programme.

The announcement was made at the Dadoji Kondadev Stadium in the presence of Jackson Kavuma after Uganda completed its penultimate fixture of the 15-day tour.

“In his mission to grow cricket, ICC chairman Jay Shah approached us to host Uganda for an exposure trip. The Mumbai Cricket Association welcomed them with open arms, and I am delighted that it has resulted in the start of a partnership with the Uganda Cricket Association,” Naik said.

Under the arrangement, Ugandan cricketers will regularly train and play matches in Mumbai, while Mumbai’s development squads are expected to travel to Uganda for off-season exposure.

“As per the arrangement, Ugandan cricketers will keep coming down to train in Mumbai and will play matches against local teams,” Naik said. “And the development squads of Mumbai can also travel to Uganda for off-season training and exposure. With a tour to England being organised for the second successive year and the under-23 team set to tour Oman, the MoU with Uganda is another step from MCA to nurture talent.”