Nepal’s squad for the upcoming edition of Asian Cricket Council Under-19 Asia Cup 2016 has been announced on last Monday.
Sandeep Lamichhane has been chosen as the skipper of the team for the event which will be held in Sri Lanka on December 15-23
Other players in the Team Nepal are Mohammed Asif Sheikh, Dipendra Singh Airee, Sandeep Sunar, Rabindra Jung Shahi, Aadil Khan, Bhim Sarki, Anil Kumar Sah, Pawan Sarraf, Suwarnakar Uraw, Kamal Singh Airee, Nandan Yadav, Prakash KC Abhinash Karn, and Rohit Kumar Paudel.
Extra players include Shahab Alam, Kishor Mahato, Bikram Bhusal and Sushant Thapa.
Nepal are pitted in Group A along with two South Asian heavyweights India and Sri Lanka as well as Associate nation Malaysia in the 50-over competition.
They are scheduled to take on hosts Sri Lanka in the opening match of the tournament at the Colombo Cricket Club on December 15. Nepal will play their second match against the defending champions India on December 16 before facing Malaysia two days later in their last match of the group stage.
The final selection was made from among 52 players by a committee consisting of Cricket Development Officer ICC-Asia Region Venkatapathy Raju, Head Coach of Nepal national cricket team Jagat Tamata and Head Coach of Nepal U-19 Cricket Team Binod Das.
Leg-spinner Lamichhane, who is also hailed as Nepali Shane Warne, had recently returned home after receiving training from The Michael Clarke Cricket Academy in Australian.
Group B comprises of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Singapore. Top two teams after the league round will advance to the semi-finals slated for December 20 and 21. The final is scheduled for December 23.
Nepal have featured in both of the previous editions of the competition but are yet to make it to the knock out stage.
In the first edition held in Malaysia in 2012, Nepal beat the host nation by 107 runs but faced an 81-run defeat against India and went down to Pakistan by eight wickets. India and Pakistan shared the trophy after both the teams were tied on 282 runs in the final.
Two years later, Nepal recorded an 80-run victory over hosts United Arab Emirates but suffered a nine-wicket defeat against India and faced a 132-run loss at the hands of Pakistan. India won the competition defeating Pakistan by 40 runs.
