Henriques set to play for Portugal in T20 World Cup qualifiers

Former Australia all-rounder Moises Henriques has decided to switch his international allegiance from Australia to Portugal and will represent his birth nation in the upcoming T20 World Cup qualifiers in August. The veteran cricketer has chosen to restart his international career with Portugal, where he was born before moving to Australia at a young age.

The 39-year-old played 44 international matches for Australia across formats and was a regular member of the national setup for several years. However, he has not represented Australia since 2021. With his international opportunities limited, Henriques has now embraced the chance to play for Portugal as they begin their journey towards qualifying for the 2028 T20 World Cup.

Portugal's campaign in Qualifiers

Portugal's campaign starts with the European sub-regional qualifier in Finland, which is the first stage of the qualification process for the 2028 edition of the tournament. The World Cup will be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

Henriques became eligible to represent Portugal after completing the International Cricket Council's mandatory three-year stand-down period for players switching from a Full Member nation to an Associate nation. Having fulfilled that requirement, he is now free to play international cricket for his birth country.

Title winning Machine Henriques

Moises Henriques is one of Australia's most decorated domestic and franchise cricketers, winning 11 major titles during his career across Australian domestic cricket, the Big Bash League, the Indian Premier League, and the Champions League T20.

He enjoyed his greatest success with the Sydney Sixers, helping them win the inaugural BBL title in 2011-12 before captaining the franchise to back-to-back championships in 2019-20 and 2020-21. Henriques also played a key role in Sunrisers Hyderabad's IPL 2016 title-winning campaign.

Beyond franchise cricket, Henriques lifted five domestic trophies with New South Wales, including the 2013-14 Sheffield Shield, three One-Day Cup titles, and the 2008-09 KFC Twenty20 Big Bash. He also won the Champions League T20 twice, with New South Wales (2009) and the Sydney Sixers (2012)

-Times of India