Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) announced preliminary 18-member national squad on Friday for the upcoming ACC T20 Elite Cup and ICC World Cricket League Division 3.
The preliminary squad includes pacer Chandra Saud and Rahul Vishwakarma, who were left out in the final squad of ACC Elite Trophy held in the UAE in October 2012 because of injuries.
U-19 batsman Sagar Pun and bowler Ram Naresh Giri secured their berths in the preliminary squad while another U-19 player Jitendra Kumar Mukhiya is also in the team.
Coach Pubudu Dassanayake did not consider former Captain Binod Das, who is yet to recover fully from injuries, for the team whereas another pacer Manjeet Shrestha is included in the team.
Bhuwan Karki, who is going through the recruitment process of Armed Police Force, is also not in the team. Karki was in the national squad during the ACC Trophy Elite.
Captain Paras Khadka, Subash Khakurel, Gyanendra Malla, Prithu Baskota, Pradeep Airee, Binod Bhandari, Basant Regmi, Sharad Vesawkar, Shakti Gauchan and Anil Kumar Mandal retained their places in the squad.
The preliminary squad along with Coach Dassanayake, Technical Assistant Raman Siwakoti and Manager Basanta Raj Satyal is to tour Delhi, India from Saturday. Nepali national squad is to play four 50-over matches and six T20 matches in India against local clubs and academies in its preparation bid for the ACC T20 Elite Cup and ICC World Cricket League Division 3. The India tour will end on March 10.
The tour will help us by exposing our weaknesses,” said Dassanayake. The final squad (14-member squad) will be announced during the tour.
Kathmandu will host the ACC T20 Cup from March 26 to April 3 while Nepal is to visit Bermuda for Division 3 scheduled for April 28 to May 5.
As both the tournaments could open passage to respective World Cups for Nepal, Dassanayake is busy in preparing strategies for both the tournaments. However, he is more focused on the ACC T20 Cup for time being as there is only a month time to prepare for it.
“It is the best chance to win the T20 tournament since all the boys are pumped up with recent success and are in good shape,” said Dassanayake.
“In terms of skill, boys are good in playing basic cricketing shots. They can play ground shots with comfort. However, I want some power hitting from boys during the T20,” said Dassanayake.
Dassanayake said that the main challenge for him is to maintain peak form of the players during the tournament. “We have to improve fitness level and we are working on it,” he said.
Dassanayake wants to build momentum in the T20 tournament from the very first match against Maldives. “We are capable of beating top associate nations and we want to beat the UAE and Afghanistan here. However, nothing is easy. What we need is momentum from the very first game,” he said.
Nepal will take on Maldives on March 26, Hong Kong on March 27, Malaysia on March 30 and Singapore in March 31.Top two teams of the tournament will progress to World T20 Qualifiers to be held in the UAE in November. Afghanistan and the UAE are already in the qualifiers as an ODI nation and the host respectively.
Practice Matches in Delhi
50-over
Feb 24 – Vs DI Khan Coaching Center
Feb 25 – Vs VijayDahiyaAcademy
Feb 27 – Vs Telefunken Coaching Center
Feb 28 – Vs Dronacharya Club
T20s
March 1 – Vs DDCA ‘A’ Team
March 3 – Vs Bharat Nagar Coaching Center
March 4 – Vs TalwarCricketAcademy
March 6 – Vs SurendraKhannaAcademy
March 8 – Vs VidyaJainAcademy
March 9 – TBC