The whole country is super proud of what this team has achieved: Uganda captain

It will be a historic moment for Uganda when they step out at the Providence Stadium in Guyana to face Afghanistan on June 3 (Monday). This will be their first World Cup match ever and skipper Brian Masaba couldn’t hide his excitement ahead of their first fixture of the 2024 T20 World Cup. 

“Absolutely huge game for us, our first game at a World Cup, first ever for Uganda in our history so we are very excited to get going. There's a bit of nerves but we've got to keep focused on the game and try and get the result that we need because we need to kick off the tournament in the right way. So, we're very focused on that but also very excited to get going,” said Masaba.

“There's obviously a lot of excitement back home. It's not just a first for us in cricket, but I believe we are the third team in any sporting discipline in the country to qualify for the World Cup. So, it's not a small feat. It's not just the cricket community that is supporting us. There's a lot of the other guys in all the other sports as well as the government back home. 

“The whole country is super proud of what this team has achieved and they're looking forward to seeing us going out there and representing the country with pride. It's a huge responsibility for us, it’s not just about the cricket anymore, but we carry a whole country's hopes on our backs.”

Talking about some of the key players in the Uganda side, Masaba said: “Frank Nsubuga is obviously been a mainstay for us over the years. He's been a very consistent performer for Uganda. A great servant of the game. We're very happy that he's with us at this tournament.

“There's a couple of talents in the team, a couple of young fast bowlers, the two opening bowlers, Juma Miyaji and Cosmas Kyewuta. They've done well for us over the last couple of years and being as young as they are it's very exciting to see them do what they do and hopefully this platform provides a bit more opportunity for them going forward.

“But you know we've got seasoned performers like Riazat Ali Shah as well, super talented lad, all-rounder. He's won a couple of crunch games for us as well. So, it's a very dynamic team. It's not super reliant on any one person. More often than not it's a huge team effort that gets us our win so you know that's something I look forward to us doing again in this tournament.”

Uganda are placed in Group C alongside Afghanistan, West Indies, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, and after how well PNG fought against West Indies, Masaba said the gap between associate nations and top sides isn’t that big.  

“We were following that game very keenly. Obviously, we're not too familiar with the local conditions, so we needed to pick up what information we could from that game. And the way Papua New Guinea went out there and played, very good signs for us as well. 

“But it just shows that the gap is not as huge as a lot of people want to believe. I believe if some of the smaller countries are given the opportunity to play and the exposure, then they can compete against the top side. So, we're very happy with the way that game went and we look to come out tomorrow and just try and emulate that.”

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