KATHMANDU: Cricket Association of Nepal on Friday announced the 18-member squad for the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup Qualifier slated for October 14-23 in Malaysia.

Raju Rijal, who led the side to runner-up in the recently-concluded ACC U-19 Premier in Malaysia, has been retained as the skipper of the team with Arif Sheikh named as his deputy.

Other members in the team include Dipendra Airee, Saurav Khanal, Shankar Rana, Sandip Sunar, Sunil Dhamala, Yogendra Karki, Dipesh Shrestha, Sushil Kandel, Prem Tamang, Rajbir Singh, Ashish Dhami, Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi, Sandeep Lamichhane, Kushal Bhurtel, Kamal Airee and Himamashu Dutta. Five teams — Nepal, USA, Ireland, Uganda, and Papua New Guinea — will fight for the last remaining berth for next year’s World Cup in Bangladesh.