Nepal’s youth cricket team ready to compete in ACC U-19 Asia Cup

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Dec. 6:The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) bid farewell to the youth team that will participate in the ACC Men’s U-19 Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) starting on December 8.

The Asia Cup is considered a preparation for the ICC U-19 World Cup, which will be held in South Africa a month later. Nepal won the ACC U-19 Premier Cup title in Malaysia a month ago and qualified for the Asia Cup. 

Nepal also defeated UAE in the World Cup qualifying match held in Nepal last February and made it to the World Cup. The World Cup is scheduled to be held from January 13 to February 4, 2024.

Nepal has been placed in Group A’ with India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan in the Asia Cup. Group ‘B’ consists of hosts UAE, Japan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Nepal’s first match in the Asia Cup will be against Pakistan on December 8 (Friday). The top two teams from each group will enter the semi-finals.

Skipper Dev Khanal recalled that Nepal had defeated India’s U-19 team before and said that they are eager to repeat that history. “Like the senior teams, we will focus on one game at a time. Scoring good runs or taking wickets against India and Pakistan will be a good opportunity for everyone. We want to make the trip successful by playing well,” said Khanal.

Similarly, the head coach of the Nepali team, Jagat Tamta, said that they would strive to get excellent results. “We have prepared well for two weeks. As we have practised on different pitches, we are confident to play good cricket and try to win all the matches. We will prove that Nepal is not weak even in the age group,” Tamta said.

Minister for Youth and Sports, Dig Bahadur Limbu, officials of CAN, and others bade farewell to the Nepali youth team. 

In the program, Minister Limbu hoped that the young sides would yield better results. He also said that the pre-announced prize for the youth cricket team would be sent to everyone’s bank account in two or three days.

Nepali team will leave for Dubai on Wednesday. 

In the World Cup, Nepal is placed in Group ‘D’ with Afghanistan, Pakistan, and New Zealand. Nepal will play its first match against New Zealand.

Squad: Dev Khanal (captain), Arjun Kumal, Akash Tripathi, Deepak Dumre, Hemant Dhami, Gulshan Jha, Deepesh Kandel, Vishal Vikram KC, Subhash Bhandari, Deepak Bohora, Uttam Thapamgar, Bipin Rawal, Tilak Rajbhandari, Akash Chand and Deepak Bohra.