Grant stewart

The Italian Cricket Federation: Experienced batter Wayne Madsen will captain Italy in their first appearance in the Men’s T20 World Cup, set to happen in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8.

The Italian Cricket Federation had previously confirmed Madsen, who plays for Derbyshire in county cricket and is an Italian passport holder, as the side’s captain after ex-Australia player Joe Burns was omitted from the squad for the tournament due to availability issues.

Former South Africa batter Jon-Jon Smuts has also been named in Italy’s squad, after attending a camp for the side in Dubai last year. Smuts played six ODIs and 13 T20Is for South Africa from 2017 to 2021 and has qualified to play for India via his wife.