Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) announced a 15-member Nepali U-19 squad under the captaincy of Bhuwan Karki on Monday for the upcoming ACC U-19 Asia Cup.
Nepali U-19 team had finished third in the ACC U-19 Cup Elite held in Malaysia in May 2013 and booked its place for the age group Asia Cup. The ACC U-19 Asia Cup will be held in the UAE from December 28, 2013 to January 4, 2014.
Ram Naresh Giri is appointed as the vice-captain of the Nepali U-19 team. Karki and Giri were also the part of Nepali team that played in the ICC U-19 World Cup 2012 held in Australia.
Bivatsu Thapa, Yagyaman Kumal and Amit Shrestha also retained their place in the U-19 squad. Thapa, Kumal and Shrestha were the part of Nepali team that played in the ACC U-19 Cup Elite along with Karki and Giri.
Prakash Bista, Lalit Singh Bhandari, Somesh Yadav, Siddhanta Lohani, Sushil Kandel, Sunil Dhamala, Raju Rijal, Sompal Kami, Prem Tamang and Arif Shekh are the new faces in the squad.
CAN has considered Rahul Pratap Singh, Sushan Bhari, Dileep Nath and Hari Shankar Shah as the reserved players for the squad.
Nepal is placed in the group A of the upcoming tournament alongside India, Pakistan and the host UAE while group B includes Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Malaysia.
Nepali U-19 will take on Pakistan U-19 in its first match of the tournament on December 28 and India U-19 on the next day. Nepal will lock its horns with the UAE on December 31.