Kathmandu, January 22:

The Nepali cricket team today left for Bangladesh to play three matches against the hosts as part of their preparation for the ICC U-19 World Cup to be held in Malaysia from February 10.

The touring Nepali team will play the U-19 Bangladeshi team on January 24, 26 and 28 before returning home. Paras Khadka leads the 15-member Nepali squad.

Other members in the squad include vice captain Gyanendra Malla, Mahesh Kumar Chhetry, Raj Shrestha, Amrit Bhattarai, Avay Rana, Akash Kumar Gupta, Sagar Khadka, Antim Thapa, Rom Shrestha, Chandra Saud, Rahul Kumar BK, Anil Kumar Mandal, Puspa Thapa and Subash Pradhan.

Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) vice president Upendra Bhattarai bade farewell to the team. Coach Roy Luke Dias, assistant coach Jagat Tamata and manager Kanaiya Lal also accompanied the team.

Nepal qualified for the U-19 World Cup winning the ACC U-19 trophies in 2001, 2003 and 2005. Only in 2000 edition did Nepal qualified for the World Cup as the runner-up to Bangladesh.