Dinesh Nakrani (born 21 September 1991) is an Indian-born cricketer who represents the Uganda cricket team. He is an all-rounder who bats left-handed and bowls left-arm medium pace. He made his international debut for Uganda in 2018 having previously played for Saurashtra in Indian domestic cricket.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Dinesh Magan Nakrani |
| Born | (1991-09-21) 21 September 1991 (age 30) Kutch, Saurashtra, India |
| Batting | Left-handed |
| Bowling | Left-arm medium |
| International information | |
| National side |
|
| T20I debut (cap 6) | 20 May 2019 v Botswana |
| Last T20I | 15 July 2022 v Jersey |
Source: Cricinfo, 15 July 2022 | |
Nakrani was born on 21 September 1991 in Kutch district, Gujarat, India.[1] He made his Twenty20 debut for Saurashtra against Maharashtra in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in India on 31 March 2014.[2]
Nakrani moved to Uganda in 2016 to work for the Keshwala Group, whose owner Ranmal Keshwala was a trustee of the Uganda Cricket Association. He began playing tape ball cricket in local leagues soon after his arrival.[3]
In July 2018, he was part of Uganda's squad in the Eastern sub region group for the 2018–19 ICC World Twenty20 Africa Qualifier tournament.[4] He was the leading run-scorer for Uganda in their opening match, against Kenya, making 88 not out.[5] In the same match, he also made an unbeaten partnership of 167 runs for the fourth wicket, with Riazat Ali Shah.[6] In the final match of the Eastern sub region group, also against Kenya, Nakrani scored 102 not out, and was named the man of the match.[7][8] He also finished as the leading run-scorer in the qualifying group, with 320 runs in six matches.[9][10]
In September 2018, he was named in Uganda's squad for the 2018 Africa T20 Cup.[11][12] He was the leading run-scorer for Uganda in the tournament, with 84 runs in four matches.[13] The following month, he was named in Uganda's squad for the 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Three tournament in Oman.[14] Ahead of the tournament, he was named as the player to watch in Uganda's squad.[15]
In May 2019, he was named in Uganda's squad for the Regional Finals of the 2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier tournament in Uganda.[16][17][18] He made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut for Uganda against Botswana on 20 May 2019.[19] In July 2019, he was one of twenty-five players named in the Ugandan training squad, ahead of the Cricket World Cup Challenge League fixtures in Oman.[20] In November 2019, he was named in Uganda's squad for the Cricket World Cup Challenge League B tournament in Oman.[21] He made his List A debut, for Uganda against Jersey, on 2 December 2019.[22]
In October 2021, Nakrani was named in Uganda's T20I squad for the Group A matches of the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier tournament in Rwanda.[23] On 19 October 2021, in the match against Lesotho, Nakrani took his first five-wicket haul in T20Is,[24] and equaled the record for the best bowling figures in a T20I match, with six wickets for seven runs.[25] On 22 October 2021, in the final Group A match of the qualifier, against the Seychelles, Nakrani took his second five-wicket haul in T20Is.[24] He also became the first bowler for Uganda to take a hat-trick in a T20I match.[26]
In November 2021, he was named in Uganda's squad for the Regional Final of the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier tournament in Rwanda.[27] In May 2022, he was named in Uganda's side for the 2022 Uganda Cricket World Cup Challenge League B tournament.[28]