Ex New Zealand international Corey Anderson is set to miss the 50-over World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe next month after USA selectors chose to retain the 14 man squad that toured Namibia in March. The 32-year-old Anderson, who once held the record for the fastest ton in men's ODI cricket, became eligible for a USA call up earlier this year after he moved base from Auckland to Dallas in March 2020.Also surplus to requirements were former India A and India U19 wicketkeeper Smit Patel and former Eagles all rounder Shadley Van Schalkwyk, recipient of 97 first class caps. Apart from the addition of left-arm fast bowler Abhishek Paradkar as the 15th man, USA selectors chose to stick to the squad that rallied to book a berth at the World Cup Qualifiers after an average show in their World Cup League 2 campaign.
USA roped in Paradkar after a 20-month hiatus from the national team, with his last outing going way back to September 2021. Monank Patel will continue to lead the team and form the bulwark of USA batting, in addition to deputy Aaron Jones and Steven Taylor. Teenage prodigy, Sai Teja Mukkamalla, is expected to retain his place at the top of the order after an unbeaten match winning hundred against the UAE.USA will be left without the services of their spearhead Ali Khan in the first two games owing to his two-match suspension that was imposed during his career-defining 7 for 32 against Jersey. Left-arm seamer Saurabh Netravalkar, Kyle Phillip, Jasdeep Singh form the remaining pace options. Central to their tactics over the years, USA went spin heavy yet again with three specialist spin options in Nisarg Patel, Nosthush Kenjige and Usman Rafiq.USA are expected to depart on June 3 for a preparatory camp in Zimbabwe ahead of their big game against the West Indies on June 18.Anderson also represented the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Back in 2014, he scored an unbeaten 95 runs off 44 balls with nine fours and six sixes against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
