Rakep Patel to lead Kenya's cricket squad in debut African Games

Kanbis all rounder Rakep Patel will lead Kenya men’s cricket side as they enter the African Games in Ghana for the first time in the tournament history.

In the squad released on Monday, Rakep, who has been a staple part of the team, will lead two newcomers to the fold including; Aarnav Patel and Gurdeep Singh.

Aarnav was one of the standouts of Kenya’s U19 team that took part in last year’s ICC U19 World Cup Qualifiers, where he notably took six wickets while only allowing 15 runs, to knock out Uganda to a pastry total of 55 runs all out in 31.2 overs.

Gurdeep, 26, on the other hand had been part of the Kenyan team since September 2021 and last made an appearance for the senior team in November that year.

Among those left out of the squad include; Rushab Patel, Irfan Karim and Tanzeel Sheikh, who were involved in Kenya’s last squad that reached the finals of the Africa Cricket Association Cup in Benoni, South Africa last year.

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Men’s cricket in Ghana will kick off on Sunday 17 March at ACO Achimota Cricket Oval, where Kenya has been pooled with the hosts, Uganda and South Africa in Group A.

The first assignment for Lameck Onyango’s side will be against Uganda on the opening day, before playing South Africa and Ghana on 18 and 20 March respectively.

In the ongoing women’s tournament, Kenya’s journey in the African Games came to an end on Sunday 10 March after suffering defeat to Zimbabwe, who made it to the semifinals alongside Uganda, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.

Kenya began the tournament with a six wicket defeat to Uganda but bounced back with their only win against Rwanda.

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FULL TEAM: Rakep Patel (captain), Neil Mugabe, Aarnav Patel, Collins Obuya, Sukhdeep Singh, Nelson Odhiambo, Shem Ngoche, Lukas Oluoch, Gurdeep Singh, Vishil Patel, Peter Koech, Francis Mutua, Gerald Mwenwa, Emmanuel Bundi.

RESERVES: Brian Likavu, Eugene Ochieng