Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, January 26

Cricket Association of Nepal today announced a 14-member squad to take part in the upcoming Under-19 World Cup to be held in Bangladesh from February

15-March 5.

Shakti Gauchan will lead the side, which included most of the players who were the members

of the team that won the Youth Asia Cup 2003 held in Karachi and qualified for the World Cup.

The players were put in two-month closed-training camp and the National Selection Committee under Sushil Chaugain selected the players to represent Nepal in the World Cup.

Pramod Basnet, Prem Chaudhary and Irfan Siddiqui, who were a part of the squad that won the Youth Asia Cup 2003 have been left out from the 14-member squad and have been named as substitutes alongwith mahesh Chhetri. Sashi Keshari, Basanta Regmi and Munik Shrestha are the new faces in the team.

Other members of the squad are Kanishka Chaugain, Yeshwant Subedi, Manjeet Shrestha, Dipesh Khatri, Paras Khadka, Ratan Rauniyar, Lakpa Lama, Raj Shrestha, Manoj Katuwal (wicketkeeper) and Sarad Vesawkar.

In 2002, under Raju Khadka Nepal finished runner-up in the plate championship in the U-19 World Cup held in New Zealand.

Roy Luke Dias will be the coach and Mahesh Prasad Rijal his deputy. Vice president of CAN

Tarini Bikram Shah has been named the team manager, while Upendra Bhattarai will be with the team as an official.

The team is scheduled to leave for Dhaka on January 31 to play some practice matches there. The participating 16 nations are divided into four pools. Nepal are in Group B alongwith England, South Africa and Uganda.

As per the schedules, Nepal will play against England on February 15, while they take on South Africa on February 18 and Uganda on February 19.