Nigerian Cricket Federation High Performance Manager, Steve Tikolo, has announced the immediate target for the Yellow Greens ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifiers in Zimbabwe, scheduled for September 28 – October 4.
Nigeria has been drawn in Group B alongside Kenya, Malawi, and Namibia, and Tikolo believes that securing at least two victories will be enough to push the team into the knockout rounds.
‘Semi-Final Spot is the First Target for the Yellow Greens’ – Steve Tikolo
Looking ahead to the challenge, Tikolo declared that qualifying for the T20 World Cup Qualifiers semifinals remains the first priority:
“Looking ahead to the tournament, in our group we have Kenya, we have Malawi, we have Namibia and ourselves.”
“The top two teams will qualify for the semi-finals.”
“Our first target is to try and qualify for the semi-finals, win two out of the three games and join the semi-finals and then we can take it from there.”
“Semi-finals being a knockout stage, anything can happen but our first target is to try and get to the semi-finals which means our target is to win two games.”
Warm-Up Matches Planned
To ensure the team adapts quickly to Zimbabwean conditions, Tikolo revealed that Nigeria is planning warm-up matches before the competition begins.
“Before that we are trying to get to Zimbabwe where we can play a few warm-up games.”
“It is in the pipeline right now, hopefully it works out for us so that we can get a few games and acclimatize in the Zimbabwe conditions.”
Nigeria Eyeing Another Breakthrough
The Yellow Greens, who continue to grow their reputation on the international stage, will be aiming to reach the latter stages of the competition as they chase qualification for the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
