“With the ICC T20 World Cup looming, this series holds immense significance for our team,” Monank said in a USA Cricket statement. “We have some new players coming into the squad, and these games will help us get the right combinations and prepare well for the World Cup.”
But despite what Monank said, there aren’t too many new faces in the squad. Monank and Jones bring a good deal of experience to the side, like Anderson, who played 13 Tests, 49 ODIs and 31 T20Is for New Zealand, whom he had first represented in 2013. Anderson was also part of the New Zealand side which reached the final of the 2015 World Cup, which they were co-hosting with Australia.
The matches against Canada will be played at the Prairie View Cricket Complex, with the USA team reaching the venue by April 1 to start their preparations.
At the T20 World Cup, both Canada and USA are in Group A, along with India, Ireland and Pakistan, and will play the World Cup opener against each other on June 2 in Dallas, Texas.
USA squad for T20I series against Canada
Monank Patel (capt), Aaron Jones (vice-capt), Andries Gous, Corey Anderson, Gajanand Singh, Harmeet Singh, Jessy Singh, Milind Kumar, Nisarg Patel, Nitish Kumar, Noshtush Kenjige, Saurabh Netravalkar, Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Steven Taylor, Usman Rafiq
Reserves: Juanoy Drysdale, Saiteja Mukkamalla, Shayan Jahangir
