In an interesting turn of events, former Australia all-rounder Moises Henriques has been named the captain of the Portugal cricket team for the men’s ICC T20 World Cup Sub-Regional Europe Qualifier C that is slated to be played from August 14 to 21 in Finland.
As Portugal hope for qualification for the T20 World Cup 2028, which will be hosted by Australia and New Zealand, they picked Henriques as soon as he was available following his international retirement.
A middle-order batsman and a right-arm medium pacer, Henriques made his Australia debut in 2009 and played 24 T20Is, 16 ODIs, and four Test matches. His last international match for Australia came in 2021, and he’s been a white-ball regular in domestic cricket and BBL, where he’s successfully led the Sydney Sixers.
How is Moises Henriques picked for the Portugal cricket team?
39-year-old Henriques retired from international and Australian domestic cricket in July. He is eligible to play for Portugal, as he was born in Funchal, the Portuguese island of Madeira, which is the birthplace of football legend Cristiano Ronaldo.
Henriques moved to Australia with his family when he was a child and became a mainstay of New South Wales domestic teams and the Sydney Sixers in the BBL.
The right-hander played a record 154 matches for the Sixers in the Big Bash League. Apart from that, the Aussie all-rounder featured in 62 IPL matches for five teams – KKR, RCB, DC, SRH, and PBKS – his last appearance coming in 2021.
Henriques currently holds a contract with Glasgow Cosmic in the European T20 Premier League, but that is not to interfere with his commitment to the Portugal team. He replaced Carlos Nunes as the Portugal skipper.
Portugal are slotted in Group B of the ICC T20 World Cup Sub-Regional Europe Qualifier C, alongside Israel, Germany, Greece, and Czechia. The winners of both Group A and B will collide in the final on August 21.
The winner of this competition will proceed to the European regional finals tournament, which includes Scotland, Jersey, and Denmark. The top two teams from the European regional tournament will advance to the main global qualifiers tournament, from where the remaining spots in the T20 World Cup 2028 will be filled.
Portugal’s squad also includes the South Africa-born Craig Cachopa, who has turned up for Sussex, Auckland, and Wellington in the past, and the Bangladesh-born Siraj Ullah Khadem.
Portugal squad for ICC T20 World Cup Europe Sub-Regional Qualifier C:
Moises Henriques (C), Hardeep Khuttan, Edward Fleming, Jeremy Martins, Christopher de Freitas, Dhavalkumar Norotam (wk), Siraj Ullah Khadem, Craig Cachopa, Jordan Netto, Carlos Nunes, Sebastian de Oliveira, Rahulkumar Hashu, Upen Shantu, Cameron Shekleton
Get the Latest Cricket Updates at IceCric.News. Also, Follow Our Social Media for live updates on Facebook and Instagram.
