Nepali national cricket team has opportunities to qualify to the ICC World T20 Cup and Cricket World Cup 2015. Nepal is slated in group B of the ICC World T20 Qualifiers to be held in the UAE in November along with Afghanistan, Scotland, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Kenya, Bermuda and Denmark. Meanwhile, Nepal is to vie for the World Cup spot in the qualifier to be held in New Zealand in January 2014. However, the national cricket team got limited chance to have outdoor practice in the country following the rainy season.
However, the national team hopes to utilize a practice tour to Sri Lanka at maximum to build up for the upcoming qualifiers as the team left Kathmandu on Thursday. Nepali team led by Coach Pubudu Dassanayake and Captain Paras Khadka will play practice matches against the Sri Lankan U-23 team and a provincial team in Sri Lanka during its 14 days stay in Sri Lanka.
Nepali team is also schedule to participate in the ACC Emerging Teams Cup to be held in Singapore from August 17 to 25 after the practice tour to Sri Lanka. Nepal is slated along side India, Pakistan and Afghanistan in the tournament, where Asian Test playing nations are to send their U-23 teams.
“It would be tough to face teams of Test playing nations but we’ll try for win in Singapore,” said Captain Khadka. “We have been playing good cricket since last few tournaments but we have to forget all those and start afresh for the upcoming tournaments,” he added.
Khadka said that his team would utilize the facilities in Sri Lanka at maximum to prepare for the upcoming tournaments.
“We could not have training sessions to improve cricketing skills here because of weather but we hope to do have proper training in Sri Lanka and prepare well for the upcoming tournaments,” said Coach Dassanayake.
Dassanayake hopes that his boys would seek respect from Test nations in the Emerging Teams Cup. “For us, the Emerging Teams Cup is to take respect from Test nations and to take respect from them we have to win matches there,” said Dassanayake.
He said the tournament would be a good preparation to build up for the upcoming qualifiers.
National Sports Council (NSC) and Cricket Association of Nepal bade farewell to the national team on Thursday amidst a program at NSC. Vice Captain Gyanendra Malla and Basant Regmi, who were in Canada to play professional cricket, are to join the team later.