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Former Australia player Moises Henriques has been appointed  Portugal captain for the 2028 T20 World Cup qualifiers. The all-rounder, who played four Tests, 16 ODIs and 24 T20Is for Australia, will lead Portugal in the Europe Sub-Regional Qualifier C in Finland.

The 39-year-old was born in Madeira, a Portuguese island, and it is also the birthplace of Cristiano Ronaldo. He moved to Australia with his family and went on to play for New South Wales and the Sydney Sixers.

He retired from Australian domestic cricket in July and is open to representing franchises in overseas tournaments. The Glasgow Cosmic has signed him for the inaugural European T20 Premier League. Portugal are ranked 37th in the men’s T20I rankings and have been kept in Group B alongside Israel, Germany, Greece and Czechia.

The tournament is scheduled to be played from August 14 to 21, with the winners of the group making it to the final on August 21.

The winning team will then move to the European regional final, where Scotland, Jersey and Denmark have already booked their places. The top two teams from this round will compete in the global qualifier for the 2028 T20 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Henriques’ last game for Australia was in 2021, but he continued to play domestic and franchise cricket. He has experience of 44 international matches and helped Portugal become a part of the global event.

Craig Cachopa, who played for Sussex, Auckland and Wellington, has also joined the European side. Cameron Shekleton, who represented South Africa A, is another big name in the squad. Sebastian de Oliveira, Ryan Rickelton and Siraj Ullah Khadem have agreed to play for Portugal.

Henriques has replaced Carlos Nunes as skipper.

Portugal’s first match is against Israel on August 14 before they take on Germany, Greece and Czechia on August 15, 17 and 20 respectively.

Portugal squad for T20 World Cup qualifying tournament

Moises Henriques (c), Craig Cachopa, Edward Fleming, Christopher de Freitas, Rahulkumar Hashu, Siraj Ullah Khadem, Hardeep Khuttan, Jeremy Martins, Dhavalkumar Norotam (wk), Jordan Netto, Carlos Nunes, Sebastian de Oliveira, Upen Shantu, Cameron Sheckleton.