D Siva Kumar replaces Ali Khan in the USA squad of T20 World Cup Qualifiers B

D Siva Kumar, the former India U-19 all-rounder, has replaced fast bowler Ali Khan in the USA's squad for the ICC T20 World Cup Qualifiers B.

Ali sustained a fracture on his forearm during the team's first fixture against Jersey and has been ruled out of the tournament. As reported earlier, he will soon fly from Zimbabwe to Texas for surgery.

The 32-year-old Siva was part of the Indian squad, which secured a title victory in Malaysia's 2008 edition of the U-19 World Cup. However, he could not feature in a single game.

The all-rounder qualified for the selection as he has been a resident of the United States for the past three years, which fulfils the ICC's residency guidelines.

Siva featured for Andhra Pradesh (AP) in 97 matches across all three formats in Indian domestic cricket. He had 1658 runs and 193 wickets to his name. His last appearance for AP came against Delhi in 2018.

The talented all-rounder has represented the Morrisville, North Carolina franchise for the last two editions of the USA's Minor League Cricket Tournament.

In 2021, Siva took 15 wickets at an economy of 16.13 and scored 93 runs with the willow. In the 2022 edition, he has scalped four wickets in two appearances.

According to USA Cricket's Press Release, Siva has joined up with his teammates and is available for selection in the team's next fixture against Zimbabwe on July 14 (Thursday). 

The United States starts on a Strong Note

USA have secured victories in the first two league matches and are leading the Group A points table. They prevailed against Jersey by eight wickets while winning by 132 runs against Singapore. 

Steven Taylor has been the top contributor with the bat, while Saurabh Netravalkar has bagged maximum wickets.