Abhishek Paradkar joins USA squad for World Cup Qualifier; Ian Holland unavailable

USA has made a solitary change to their squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, bringing in left-arm pace bowler Abhishek Paradkar. The majority of the squad remains unchanged from the group of 14 players who secured a place in the tournament by winning the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier Playoff in Namibia last April.

Paradkar’s inclusion is primarily aimed at providing cover for fast bowler Ali Khan, who will be suspended for the first two matches of the qualifier against West Indies and Nepal. Khan’s ban was imposed following his reprimand for his conduct during USA’s victory over Jersey in the Qualifier Playoff. Despite delivering exceptional figures of 7 for 32 in that game, Khan’s animated exchanges with Jersey players resulted in disciplinary action by the ICC match referee. As a result, Paradkar has been called upon to provide support in Khan’s absence. The 22-year-old left-arm seamer made his ODI debut for USA in 2021 against Papua New Guinea during the tour of Oman, where he impressed with figures of 4 for 26. However, he only played one additional match on that tour, facing Nepal, and has not represented USA since.

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Medium-pace all-rounder Ian Holland, who played a pivotal role for USA throughout the three-year-long Cricket World Cup League 2 ODI tournament for Associate nations, will not be available for the World Cup Qualifier due to his commitments with Hampshire County.

The USA squad for the World Cup Qualifier consists of Monank Patel (captain and wicketkeeper), Aaron Jones (vice-captain), Shayan Jahangir (wicketkeeper), Nosthush Kenjige, Ali Khan, Sushant Modani, Sai Mukkamalla, Saurabh Netravalkar, Abhishek Paradkar, Nisarg Patel, Kyle Phillip, Usman Rafiq, Gajanand Singh, Jessy Singh, and Steven Taylor. These players will be aiming to make a mark and secure USA’s qualification for the prestigious ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.