Former Australia all-rounder Moises Henriques to switch allegiance ahead of T20 World Cup qualifiers

Former Australian all-rounder Moises Henriques is set to switch allegiance and represent the Portugal Cricket Team ahead of the 2028 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifiers. The sub-regional qualifiers are set to commence on 14 August 2026 in Finland.

Henriques, who played 44 times for Australia across formats, including 24 T20I caps, has not played for his country since 2021. However, he remains an active player in the 20-over circuit, representing the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League as captain and leading them to the final in 2026.

Henriques is now eligible to represent Portugal after completing the International Cricket Council's (ICC) mandatory three-year stand-down period, which applies to all players who have represented a Member Nation at any point in their international careers. It is worth mentioning that the 39-year-old was born in Funchal, on the island of Madeira in Portugal, the same place where football icon Cristiano Ronaldo was born.

Henriques wants the game to expand to more countries worldwide, so it is not played in only a few pockets. He also talked about his Portuguese roots and how his family, still living back in the Iberian nation, would be proud to see him don the maroon jersey.

"I guess the opportunity for growth in the game around the world, it's probably not just my Portuguese heritage, but the game, more importantly, and the opportunity for growth worldwide. We can improve the quality of all the engagement in, say, another 10 or 20 nations around the world, and then you're looking at cricket World Cups that stop the entire world, as opposed to a couple of Western countries and the subcontinent," Moises Henriques said to the Australian outlet CODE Sports.

"My family back in Portugal would be all really proud to see me doing it as well. Both my brothers think it's cool, they were both born here in Australia after we moved here, where I was actually born in Portugal. My family that are still in Portugal, they seem more proud than anyone, so yeah, even though I haven't really been a huge part of their lives, but I think they see it as 'oh wow, we've got someone in the family that's representing our country, as opposed to another country'," he added.

Henriques is on the verge of joining another former Australian international in switching allegiance to prolong their careers. Joe Burns, who played for Australia between 2014 and 2020, went on to play for Italy in the shortest format of the game.