Uganda cricketer Alpesh Ramjani has revealed that a handful of Indian superstars will cheer on his team during their Challenge League B campaign in Hong Kong.

Ramjani, who was in the 2023 ICC T20 Internationals team of the year after claiming a record 55 wickets in a single calendar year, moved to Uganda in 2021 after his construction job in India became a casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The slow-left-arm bowler was instrumental in Uganda’s qualification for the 2024 T20 World Cup, which was won by an India team featuring his former domestic cricket teammates Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube.

The global tournament, where Uganda won one of their four matches, was especially poignant for Ramjani, 30, who lost his father, Ravilal, in January last year after a long illness.

“Dad was the one who was always inspiring me to reach the highest level,” Ramjani said. “He watched all the qualification matches, but he could not watch me at the World Cup. His blessings are still with me and I am always motivated to do well for him.”

Ramjani’s economy rate of 4.75 from 54 T20Is, since his 2022 debut, is second in the world only to the 4.69 of 44-year-old teammate Frank Nsubuga.