Former West Indies Legendry batter Shivnarine Chanderpaul will step down as the head coach of the USA senior women’s and U19 teams after the upcoming inaugural ICC U-19 Women’s World Cup in South Africa, USA cricket announced in a statement last month.
But The 48-year-old former West Indian captain is now gunning for T20 World Cup glory with the USA Cricket Women’s U19 squad.
Chanderpaul oversaw a successful tour of the UAE with the U19 Ladies. As a result 14 of that squad have been selected for this World Cup adventure, with Chopra the only addition to the squad going to South Africa.
Star all-rounder Geetika Kodali will captain the USA with wicket-keeper/batter Anika Kolan named as vice-captain for the event.
Chanderpaul is looking forward to showcasing the talent available within the USA’s ranks, and after a series win over the West Indies U19 women, believes his side can acquit themselves well in South Africa.
With the USA thrown into Group A they will face some tricky white-ball games against Australia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Their first match is against Sri Lanka at Willowmoore Park, Benoni on 14 January. The US return 48 hours later to face the ever-powerful Australians and battle it out with Bangladesh on 18 January.
The Americans have every chance to navigate their way to the Super Six portion of the showpiece tournament, as the top three sides at the completion of the group stage will progress for these clashes.
Chanderpaul enthusiastically revealed on USA Cricket’s website: “We are focusing on final preparations for this historic World Cup for the players and for the USA. World Cups are incredibly special and we are really looking forward to representing the country on this fantastic platform.”
The US team squad comprises 15 Indian-origin members including Chanderpaul, California-born captain Kodali Geetika, Taranum Chopra, Aditi Chudasama, Bhumika Bhadriraju, Disha Dhingra, Isani Vaghela, Jivana Aras, Laasya Mullapudi, Pooja Ganesh (wicketkeeper), Pooja Shah, Ritu Singh, Sai Tanmayi Eyyunni, Snigdha Paul, Suhani Thadani. Even the five non-travelling reserve players also boast Indian origins, namely Tya Gonsalves, Mitali Patwardhan, Chetnaa Prasad, Lisa Ramjit and Kasturi Vedantham.