Nigeria captain Eseigbe returns for Kwibuka tournament

Female Yellow Greens captain Favour Eseigbe has returned to the squad after almost a year out as the team begin the final phase of their preparations for the 2026 Kwibuka Tournament in Rwanda, PidomNigeria Sports Extra reports.

Head coach Theophilus Ibodeme recalled Eseigbe to his final 14-player squad for this year’s tournament, which will be held from June 10 to 20 at the Gahanga Cricket Oval in Kigali.

Eseigbe, who took over as captain from the retired Blessing Etim in 2024, last featured for Nigeria at the 2025 Kwibuka tournament. She was surprisingly dropped from the team in August 2025 ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier in Namibia. Her absence was said to be largely due to a dip in form, while she was also engaged with her academic pursuits.

As Eseigbe returns, she will lead 13 other players, including Lilian Ude, experienced batter Salome Sunday, Christabel Chukwuonye and Esther Sandy, to the tournament.

Wicketkeeper Sarah Etim will deputise as vice-captain and will be joined by Omosigho Eguakun, Shola Adekunle, Henrietta Mbam, Jessica Bieni, Deborah Bassey, Oseyende Omonkhobhio, Favour Effiong and Rachael Samson.

A notable absentee from the squad is Lucky Piety, who, in Eseigbe’s absence, captained the team to victory at the Patricia Kambarami Cup in Lagos earlier this year.

The 14 players selected for the tournament emerged from a pool of 24 who took part in the first phase of preparations, which lasted 10 days at the Nigeria Cricket Federation’s High Performance Centre in Benin City, Edo State.

The invited players participated in six trial matches designed to assess performance levels, fitness and team combinations before the final selection process.

Rather than move to Lagos for the final phase of camping, however, the team remained in Benin City to fine-tune their skills ahead of the tournament.

At this year’s competition, Nigeria will face hosts Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Brazil and Malawi.

The Female Yellow Greens will begin the round-robin phase with a clash against Malawi on Wednesday, June 10.

Ibodeme will be hoping to make another statement at this year’s Kwibuka Tournament after guiding the Female Yellow Greens to the Patricia Kambarami Cup title earlier this year.