TANZANIA's senior national cricket team would open its campaign in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men's Cricket World Cup Challenge League B on November 7, meeting Italy in Uganda.

The regional showdown - slated for November 6-16 - will witness six teams battle for a spot in the following stage of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Challenge League.

They are Bahrain, Hong Kong, Italy, Singapore, Tanzania, and Uganda. Entebbe Oval and Lugogo Oval are the venues slated to be used for the tournament.

In the second fixture, Tanzania would come up against pre-tournament favourite and host Uganda at Lugogo Oval on Saturday.

Tanzania would then take on Hong Kong at the Entebbe Oval on November 12.

Tanzania's senior national cricket team, coached by Pushpa Kumar, is made up of skipper Abhik Patwa, Ally Mpeka, Amal Rajeevan, Harsheed Chohan, Asuri Rajendra, Kassim Nassor, and Ivan Selemani.

Khalid Amiri, Maker Mukesh, Mohamed Omary, Mohamed Yunus, Sanjay Thakor, Laksh Bakrania, and Akhil Anil are the other cricketers constituting the squad.

The cricketers were, according to a Tanzania Cricket Association (TCA) official, slated to travel to Kampala last Saturday.

They were flagged off at the Muhimbili Cricket Academy in Ilala, Dar es Salaam.

The flag-off ceremony, aiming at honouring and motivating the squad, was graced by National Sports Council (NSC) Sports Officer Charles Maguzu.

Maguzu, the occasion's chief guest, proudly handed over the national flag to senior national cricket team skipper Abhik Patwa.

The symbolic handover, the TCA official stated, marked not just the team’s official send-off, but also the hopes and support of an entire nation as the team takes on the challenging road to the 2027 Men's Cricket World Cup.

 The event was also attended by the TCA vice chairman Ashish Nagewadia, board members, and other key leaders, all rallying behind the team as the cricketers carry the nation's dreams and ambitions.

The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Challenge League B is viewed as the first stage of the road to the 2027 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.

ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League is the second edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League and a cricket tournament which forms part of the 2027 Cricket World Cup qualification process.

Tanzania's senior national cricket team is featuring in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Challenge League B whilst boasting a successful run in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Sub Regional Africa Qualifier A, held in Dar es Salaam in September.

Tanzania managed to confidently defend its 119-run total and lift the trophy in the ICC Men's World Cup Sub Regional Africa Qualifier A, fending off a stiff challenge showcased by the never-say-die Malawians.

The well-attended final, which took place at Gymkhana Club's oval, witnessed Tanzania bat first, securing 119/10 in 19.4 overs.

A section of Tanzania's trusted top-order players surprisingly crumbled because of a spirited bowling showing by Malawi, forcing gifted low-order batsmen to step up their game.

Skipper Abhik Patwa was the batsman with the most runs for Tanzania having notched 30 runs consisting of two fours and a sixer.

Even though Gershon Ntambalika (11 runs, one boundary) did all he could to have Malawi stay within reach of the target, fellow batsmen lost steam and were dismissed in quick succession.

Malawi, in the end, ended up suffering the loss to secure the second place.

Both Tanzania and Malawi have sailed through to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Main Africa Qualifier, as the two teams finished with the best Net Run Rates.

Before the regional showpiece's final, Tanzania was the leader - boasting a 6.2467 Net Run Rate, whereas Malawi (4. 5766 Net Run Rate) was sitting second.

Ghana (0.6776), Lesotho (-1.9125), Cameroon (-2.5147), and Mali (-6.2679) were sitting third, fourth, fifth, and last respectively.