The T20 World Cup 2024 is set to offer unique opportunities to certain stars, as the United States of America cricket team participates in the showpiece event for the first time ever. In the USA squad, there remain a number of established stars with roots in India, Pakistan and other parts of the world. One such player is Nisarg Patel who was did his schooling in India before migrating to the United States in 2003. He is now keen to pick the brains of India's Ravindra Jadeja and spend some time with Virat Kohli.
"MS Dhoni is my favourite but he is retired now, so I want to take some tips from Ravindra Jadeja since he is my type of player, left arm spinner and can bat also. So even a small tip from him can be very helpful for me," Nisarg told ANI.
Talking about the T20 World Cup 2024, the USA cricketer said they are very excited since they will be playing a World Cup for the first time.
"We are very excited. People have been waiting for this T20 World Cup for a long time, even the US cricketers are very excited and it's a big opportunity for us to play in the World Cup for the first time. Playing against big teams like India and Pakistan is a dream for us and today when our dreams are turning into reality so we are very excited," he added.
"Even if we get five to ten minutes to talk with Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jasprit Bumrah then we will make the most of that opportunity to learn something from them," Nisarg further added.
Earlier on Sunday, USA named their 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup with Corey Anderson is set to join a select list of cricketers to represent two different teams at the global event after being named in USA's squad.
The team will be led by 31-year-old wicket-keeper batter Monank Patel and the USA squad features some familiar names alongside performers from the recent T20I series against Canada, which they won 4-0.
Among the other well-known names in the mix are opener Steven Taylor, who leads the USA in runs scored in international cricket, Aaron Jones, and Saurabh Netravalkar, the player with the most caps. The team also includes off-spinner Milind Kumar, who made his debut in the same series.
USA squad: Monank Patel (C), Aaron Jones (VC), Andries Gous, Corey Anderson, Ali Khan, Harmeet Singh, Jessy Singh, Milind Kumar, Nisarg Patel, Nitish Kumar, Noshtush Kenjige, Saurabh Nethralvakar, Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Steven Taylor, Shayan Jahangir. Reserve Players: Gajanand Singh, Juanoy Drysdale and Yasir Mohammad.
With ANI inputs
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