When Nepali youngsters begin their U-19 Cricket World Cup journey for the fourth time on February 5 in Sri Lanka, they would be nervous about how their fast bowlers would perform.
Among all departments, pace attack appears inexperienced and weak, especially when all first round opponents of Nepal are good at playing pace bowlers. But nevertheless the Nepali inexperienced bowlers are talented and are confident of doing well.
During U-19 ACC Cup, the same pace attack bowled surprisingly well leaving nothing for the spinners to accomplish. Bhairahawa’s left-hander Amrit Bhattarai got 13 wickets in five matches while Bantu Bataju, who struggled with line earlier, complemented with a five-wicket haul in the final.
Another paceman, Abhaya Rana took two wickets in the only match he had played for Nepal but he is the one who has already broken into the national side. The pace attack would however be led by Paras Khadka, the vice-captain and all rounder in the team, who bowled economically in the last edition. “I have good hopes,” Abhaya said. “We are capable of swinging new balls and have variety with a left-hander.”
Bantu has already represented Nepal in U-15 and U-17 level and is capable of doing some hard-hitting with the bat too. “My dream is to take Nepal into the semifinals with the new ball,” he said. “It would be difficult to bowl on flat wickets but we hope at least to make batsmen struggle, with good line and length.”
Amrit wasn”t sure he could bowl that well until the U-19 ACC Cup in Kathmandu but after bowling some brilliant spells, he is beaming with confidence. “I played the ACC Cup well, and I want to do better than that,” he said. “In a competition like the World Cup, individual performance won’t matter and I want to contribute for the team”s victory.”
Amrit played for U-15 national squad during its U-15 ACC Cup victory in UAE paving the way for the U-19 squad. “I am not all that experienced,” he added. “But I am bowling well in the nets and I hope to take a few wickets.”
Coach Roy Dias believed the wickets in Sri Lanka would offer something for the pacers and if the Nepali pacers stick to line and length it would be difficult for opposing teams to cope with them.
Nepal plays England in the opening match on February 6 before taking on Zimbabwe and Ireland on February 7 and 9 respectively in the first round.