Kathmandu, December 8

Nepal U-16 national cricket team is on Saturday leaving for Thailand to compete in the ACC U-16 Eastern Regional Tournament slated for December 9-18 in Thailand.

A total of eight teams are competing in the event. Hosts Thailand, Nepal, Hong Kong and Myanmar are in Group A and all the matches of this pool will be played in Bangkok. Similarly, Malaysia, Singapore, China and Bhutan are in Group B and they will compete in Chiang Mai.

Top two teams from both the pools will advance to the semi-finals. The semi-final matches will be played on December 16, while the final is slated on December 17.

Meanwhile, Sushil Koirala Memorial Foundation Member Secretary Atul Koirala, Nepal Olympic Committee’s Deputy General Secretary Rajiv Shrestha and team director Binod Das among others bade farewell to the team.

Das said Nepali team was capable of winning the tournament. “We have talented players in the squad and they are good enough to win the title of the event,’ said Das.

Nepali team comprises skipper Rit Gautam, vice-captain Bishal Bikram KC, Trit Raj Das, Kushal Malla, Rajan Magar, Suwash Ayer, Amit Kumar Yadav, Sunil Bhandari, Narayan Joshi, Nikhil Kumar Singh, Surya Tamang, Ajay Kumar Luniya, Pratish GC and Mekh Bahadur Sen Thapa.

Likewise, Bibek Kumar Yadav, Rehman Ali Musalman, Bishank Subedi and Sheikh Imran are reserve players.

Jung Bahadur Thapa and Dipendra Chaudhary are coaches. Sushil Koirala Memorial Foundation helped the team with accommodation and funds for the closed camp training.