Kathmandu- The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has released the squad for the U19 Word Cup 2016 that is scheduled to take place in Bangladesh from January 22 to February 14.
Wicket-Keeper batsman Himanshu Dutta, Leg Spinner Sandip Lamichhane and top order batsman Ishan Pandey made it to the final 16 for the first time while Kushal Bhurtel and Lalit Rajbanshi lost their places.
Ishan Pandey was the third highest run scorer in the super league with 124 runs in four matches, with a highest of 85 not out and Sandip Lamichhane the highest wicket taker with 12 wickets. Meanwhile, Himanshu got selected for the team after a string of consistent performances in the super league with the bat and his wicket keeping.
Raju Rijal will lead the team in the biggest stage of the game while Aarif will act as his deputy. Surprisingly, Irshad Ahmed, who made his debut with the senior national team for the ICC World Cricket League Championship matches against Papua New Guinea has been kept in the reserve list.
Squad- Raju Rijal (c), Aarif Sheikh, Sandeep Sunar, Sunil Dhamala, Dipendra Airee, Saurav Khanal, Prem Tamang, Sushil Kandel, Dipesh Shrestha, Rajbir Singh, Yogendra Karki, Shankar Rana, Himandu Dutta, Sandip Lamichhane and Ishan Pandey.
Reserve Players- Kushal Bhurtel, Nandav Yadav, Lalit Rajbanshi and Irshad Ahmed.
U19 Team to play five practice matches in India
Nepal U19 will play five matches in India as a preparation for the U19 World Cup. The team will play matches with local team from New Delhi and Dharmasala. Team leaves for India on December 30.
Nepal is placed in Group D against giants India, Australia and New Zealand.
