Kathmandu, December 12

A 19-member squad is on Tuesday leaving for Sri Lanka to take part in the ACC U-19 Asia Cup slated for December 13-24 with eyes firmly set on maiden berth in the knock out stage.

Nepal are pitted in Group A along with India, hosts Sri Lanka and Malaysia in the 50-over competition.

Similarly, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Singapore are pitted in Group B. Nepal will play their opening match against Sri Lanka on December 15 before facing defending champions India the following day.

Nepal will play their last group match against Malaysia on December 18. 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 two editions of the competition but are yet to make it to the knock out stage. However, head coach Binod Das said that Nepal were capable of securing second round berth this time around. “We have set our target of reaching the second round but it is not going to be easy as we had short preparation period of 15 days,” said Das.

The former U-19 and national team skipper Das said the team tried hard for the best use of the available resources. “I don’t see any reason that we cannot not make it to the second round as we have been able to beat teams like South Africa and New Zealand in the U-19 level in the past.

I will be disappointed if we will not achieve our target,” he added.

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. 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.

The players were also confident of achieving the target. “The players are on a high especially after their performance in practice matches and we are hoping for the best,” said skipper Sandeep Lamichhane, who recently played for former Australian skipper Michael Clarke’s club.

“We are capable of advancing to the knock out stage and we are even looking to make it to the final as well,” added Lamichhane, who lamented the lack of international exposure for the tournament. He has also taken the tournament as the preparation for the ICC U-19 World Cup to be held in New Zealand in 2018.

Coach Das termed the team as the best one and claimed bowling department as the strongest side. “Bowling as usual looks good as we have varieties in spinners Kamal Airee and Nandan Yadav. We are pinning hopes on them in Sri Lankan pitches where spinners can turn the matches.

In batting, Aasif Sheikh and Anil Kumar Sah are strong,” said Das. The coach said he focused on match practices during the training camp apart from physical fitness of the players. “We could not address technical aspects of the game due to lack of time,” added coach Das.

The players were picked through talent hunt programmes at six different centres of the country rather than following the traditional process of national games.

Playing against defending champions India and hosts Sri Lanka would not be easy for Nepal. While Sri Lanka will have home advantage, India are always a dominant force in the region. “We are not going to play looking at other teams, either it be India or Sri Lanka. We will focus on our own game and fight till last moment,” said Das.

Meanwhile, National Sports Council Member Secretary Keshab Kumar Bista and Chaudhary Group’s Assistant General Manager Lal Babu Prasad bade farewell to the team amidst a programme today.

“Our national team made cricket popular in the country with lots of success and the youth team needs to come up with even better results,” said Bista accepting the fact that the government was not able to provide the cricketers with proper facilities.

National team head coach Jagat Tamatta, who is also travelling to Sri Lanka with the team, said the event would be the best platform for youth cricketers. “We have selected the best players in the team and the only concern is the short training period for preparation,” he said. Physiotherapist Dinesh Bhatta and technical analyst Raman Shiwakoti will also accompany the team to Sri Lanka.

NEPAL TEAM: Sandeep Lamichhane (skipper), Md Aasif Sheikh, Rabindra Jung Shahi, Aadil Khan, Bhim Sharki, Anil Kumar Sah, Dipendra Singh Airee, Pawan Sarraf, Suwarnakar Uraw, Sandeep Sunar, Kamal Singh Airee, Nandan Yadav, Prakash KC, Avinash Karn and Rohit Kumar Paudel.