Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, February 9:

Nepali national cricket team left today for Sri Lanka for the final preparation ahead of the ICC World Cup Qualifying Series 2 Cricket Tournament to be held in Malaysia from February 21.

Nepal squad is scheduled to play three practice matches in Sri Lanka during their 8-day tour. Kishor Bahadur Singh, member secretary of National Sports Council, and Jai Kumar Nath Shah, president of Cricket Association of Nepal, bid farewell to the players and officials.

Nepal are playing in the Series 2 tournament after they failed to qualify from the ACC Trophy held in Malaysia in July, last year. The ACC Trophy finalists — UAE and Oman — have already qualified for the ICC Trophy to be held in Ireland in July.

The winner of the series 2 tournament will join UAE and Oman in the ICC Trophy, which will send five top teams to the World Cup to be held in West Indies in 2007.

Nepal is drawn in Group A along with Papua New Guinea, Kuwait and Italy. Nepal will begin their campaign on February 21 against PNG, followed by Kuwait on February 22 and Italy on February 24. The other group features Caymen Islands, Fiji, Qatar and Zambia.

“This is a very tough tour for us,” said Sri Lanka coach Roy Luke Dias. Asked about the chances of qualifying for the ICC Trophy, Dias said that the chances were fifty-fifty. “Italy is an unknown team for us and we have played PNG in junior levels only,” he said.

“But the players have worked very hard and the preparations have been good. All the players are talented and now they need to prove that,” Dias said.

Skipper Binod Das too was confident about Nepal’s chances. “The training was good and most importantly all the players are fit,” he said. Asked about the chances, Das said: “I am 100 per cent confident that we will win.”

CAN vice presidents Sriharsha Koirala and Sri Niwas Rana, secretary Pradeep Raj Pandey, treasurer Sashi Subedi, member Kiran Rana and other officials were present at the farewell ceremony at NSC.

SQUAD: Binod Das (capt), Shakti Gauchan (vice capt), Paresh Lohani, Kanishka Chaugain, Sharad Vesawkar, Sanjam Regmi, Raj Kumar Pradhan, Dipendra Chaudhary, Unil Shrestha, Mehboob Alam, Paras Khadka, Lakpa Lama, Dhirendra Chand, Manoj Baisya (wk). Roy Dias (coach), Navin Singh (asst coach), Sriniwas Rana (manager), Minal Pandey (assistant manager).