NPCA 50-Overs League: Big guns upbeat despite absence of national players

Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NPCA) 50-Over League big guns are working on a way to cope with the absence of their star players currently away in Entebbe, Uganda for the ongoing Pearl of Africa Cricket Series.

The Pearl Series threw-off at Entebbe Cricket Oval on June 15 and concludes on July 27.

What this means is that the players representing the country in Uganda will be away from their respective clubs for almost two weeks.

NPCA Hon Secretary Narendra Patel aka "NK" believes the absence of key players presents an opportunity for identifying potential replacements, and indeed, adjusting squad dynamics.

"In as much as the absence of the stars will be felt, it’s an opportunity for teams to adjust their strategy and tactics to account for the void left behind, I'm sure they have strong team dynamics and they'll surely find ways to overcome the challenges, by and large" NK highlighted.

Swamibapa A are the hardest hit, missing 3 of their star players while Kanbis A, Stray Lions A, SCLPS A and Sikh Union A will also miss 2 players each.

Swamibapa A play against hosts Ruaraka in the weekend's "top of the bill" match whilst Eastleigh giants Kanbis A head to Samaj in another highly-anticipated NPCA Super Division match.

Sir Ali A take on Sikh Union A at Sir Ali Muslim Club in Pangani whilst Stray Lions A host Kenya Kongonis A at Peponi.

Sikh Union are without their skipper Sukhdeep Singh (who is also their wicket keeper) and prolific middle order batsman Jasraj Kundi.

Elsewhere, Nairobi Gymkhana A take on Ngara A in another Super Division fixture at Nairobi Gymkhana.

Gymkhana will miss the services of their star player Vishil Patel.      

Kenya Kongonis' superstar Shem Ngoche is also away with the Kenya team and so are Stray Lions' Captain Tanzeel Sheikh and Gerald Mwenda.

Log leaders and defending champions Kanbis A will miss the services of Kenya team's mainstay Rakep Patel and Dhiren Gondaria who doubles up as both club and Kenya national team skipper.

Like Kanbis, Samaj will also play minus Lucas Oluoch Ndandason and Francis Mutua missing in action in their home match.

The Swamis will be without hitman Sachin Gill who will miss out on the opportunity to play against his old team Ruaraka A.

Swamibapa’ s Peter Koech and Vraj Patel are also in Uganda.

In the absence of the highflying trio, Swamibapa skipper Rushabh Patel will be the man to watch when he opens for the T20 Champions.

Sachin was among the players who guided Ruaraka A to victory in the NPCA 50-Overs League title two years ago, a feat he's doggedly pushing to replicate for his current team Swamibapa A.

"Swamibapa is always the team to beat. But cricket, being an unpredictable game, you really have to take each game as it comes. It would have been exciting playing against my old club; but let’s see how it goes.

“Our team composition this weekend is dented because of national duties and that doesn’t affect them (Ruaraka) much. So, let’s see how it goes," Sachin commented from Uganda where he is starring for Kenya in the Pearl event.

Ruaraka Captain Nitish Hirani, on his part, commented: "We are without Pushkar Sharma who traditionally opens alongside me in our batting order."

Sukhdeep Singh, Sikh Union's Captain is optimistic with his team's match dynamics.

"Last weekend's 5-weekend victory over Ngara was phenomenal for us. The pitch played differently to what we were expecting but overall, it was a good fighting spirit that got us the game. Another plus was myself and Jasraj getting some runs before the national assignment. The team is playing as a unit and we enjoyed our cricket. That’s what we are looking at this season," said Sukhdeep before leaving to Uganda.

Division One and Two are also sure to treat fans to some exhilarating displays of cricket artistry.

Super Division

Ruaraka A vs Swamibapa (Ruaraka) Kanbis A VS Samaj A (Eastleigh)

Stray Lions A vs Kongonis A (Peponi)

Nairobi Gymkhana A vs Ngara A (Nairobi Gymkhana)

Division One

Swamibapa B vs Ruaraka B (Jamhuri)

Samaj B vs Kanbis B (Samaj School grounds) Sikh Union B vs Sir Ali B (Sikh Union)

Ngara B vs Wolves CC A (Ngara SC)

DIVISION TWO

GI B vs Swamibapa Development (GI)

Stray Lions C vs Nairobi Gymkhana (Impala) Kongonis B vs Legends CC (Nairobi Club) Nairobi Royals vs Wolves CC B (Nairobi Jafferys)