POA T20 Series - Nigeria’s Yellow Greens Replace Kuwait, Playing Format Changes

Kampala, Uganda – July 4, 2025. The Uganda Cricket Association (UCA) wishes to announce an important update ahead of the eagerly awaited second edition of the Pearl of Africa T20 Series, scheduled for July 15–28, 2025, at the lakeside Entebbe Cricket Oval.

Following the withdrawal of Kuwait (ICC T20I rank 23), the Yellow Greens of Nigeria, currently ranked 36th in the world, will replace them in the competition lineup. This adjustment not only sustains the tournament’s competitive edge but also enhances its continental representation.

Additionally, the tournament format has been revised to a double round-robin, with all teams playing each other twice except for Namibia A and UAE, who will not face off. The team finishing top of the table after all fixtures will be declared champions. Namibia A matches will not carry T20I status nor contribute points, as Namibia A is a development side for the Richelieu Eagles.

Nigeria’s head coach, Steve Tikolo, welcomed the invitation:

“This is good news for us because we have not had anything since November last year when we played in the West Africa Regional Qualifier and we qualified for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier scheduled for September in Zimbabwe. It is a nice feeling to know that the boys are going to get some game time. I have had a look at the teams that are going to compete in the Pearl of Africa Series and it is a good thing to know that most of them are ranked above us. It helps you gauge your potential. We need a lot of games. This is a real good opportunity for boys in terms of exposure. Our expectations are to come and play every game hard and look forward to winning every fixture put before us.”

Nigeria captain Sylvester Okpe added:

“We have been in camp for the past 10 days focusing on fitness and match awareness. We haven’t had a lot of game time lately. The bowlers have been working towards executing their game plans and the batsmen getting a feel of the centre. The team is excited and happy to be coming to Entebbe for the Pearl of Africa Series. It helps us prepare better for Zimbabwe as well as improve our rankings.”

The revised tournament fixtures commence on Thursday, July 17 with Uganda facing Namibia A and Kenya playing Nigeria.

The Adonia Waibale-led Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the tournament extends its gratitude to all participating nations and partners including LycaMobile, Pepsi & Hisense among others for their flexibility and commitment to making the Pearl of Africa T20 Series a premier fixture on Africa’s cricket calendar.

THE REVISED FIXTURES

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