Coach Angara reveals what Kenya must do to qualify for 2028 T20 World Cup
National cricket team coach Joseph Angara gives instructions to players during at training session at Ruaraka Sports Club in Nairobi on September 17, 2025.
What you need to know:
- Kenya advanced to the T20 World Cup Africa Regional Qualifiers by the narrowest of margins.
- The Kenyan team amassed 10 points from six matches, two points behind winners Rwanda.
Kenya coach Joseph Angara says the national team team needs better preparations to stand a chance of securing a berth at the 2028 T20 World Cup.
This follows Kenya’s passage into the T20 World Cup Africa Regional Qualifiers by the narrowest of margins.
“We need to sit down with Cricket Kenya board and strategise on how we are going to carry forward,” Angara told Nation Sport on phone from Gaborone in Sunday.
“We just need to prepare better and have proper competitive games towards the tournament,” the former Kenya international added.
Kenya finished second with 10 point in the 2028 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Sub-Regional Qualifiers “A”, which concluded on Saturday in Gaborone in Botswana.
The Kenyan team amassed 10 points from six matches, two points behind winners Rwanda who also advanced to the final regional qualifiers.
The Africa regional qualifiers will be held next year with the top two teams advancing to the T20 World Cup to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
With Test playing Zimbabwe not taking part in the Africa regional qualifiers, Angara said Kenya has a good chance of securing a place in the World Cup.
Zimbabwe will not feature in the last round of the qualifiers after earning a direct ticket to the global showpiece by virtue of finishing among the top eight teams at the 2026 T20 World Cup, which was co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
National cricket team coach Joseph Angara before a past match against Rwanda at Sikh Union ground in Nairobi.
“Zimbabwe not coming down is an open opportunity for all of us (Uganda, Namibia and Kenya). We just need to prepare better and play competitive build-up games ahead of the tournament,” Angara said.
Kenya, a fallen cricket giant, last featured in a World Cup in the 2011 One Day International (ODI) tournament co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Kenya’s previous appearances were in 1996, 1999 and 2003 in the ODI version, as well as the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007.
Kenya's best performance in the World Cup was in 2003 where they reached the semi-final becoming the first non-Test playing nation to reach this far in the tournament.
Kenya came perilously close to an early exit at the Africa Sub-Regional Qualifiers “A” after they suffered a shocking two wicket loss to unfancied Rwanda on May 25.
Kenya bounced back with wins over minnows Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Botswana and Cote d’Ivoire.
But qualification was by then not entirely in the hands of the Kenyans as they needed Rwanda to defeat Botswana, an outcome that came to pass via a nervous two run result.
Angara admitted that his boys underperformed in Gaborone.
“I think we could have done better, we just took a little bit longer to adjust to the slow wickets,” Angara said.
He blamed the shocking loss to Rwanda on poor batting after they set a low target of just 101 runs for the loss of nine wickets.
Kenya defeated Sierra Leone by 38 runs, Cameroon by 10 wickets, Botswana by 62 runs and Cote d’Ivoire by nine wickets.
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