Kuala Lumpur, August 2:

The training is over and the team is leaving for battle field, Penang. With huge responsibilites on their shoulders, the Under-17 team is going to fight for the ACC Asia Cup slated for August 5-13. The U-17 cricketers underwent a three-day training in Kuala Lumpur and are heading for Penang on Wednesday. They will play open with a match against Afghanistan on Friday, and will take on Brunei on Saturday. Coach Roy Dias was concerned about the scorching heat, which has become a major problem for the team. “We had problems in training, but I hope they will acclimatise before the tournament starts,” said Dias. “We have to improve a lot on batting and we will make full use of these remaining two days on that,” said Dias. Assistant

coach Pradeep Pandey put all the hopes on the shoulders of experienced skipper Gyanendra Malla and Deepen Shrestha. He also informed that Deependra Shrestha and Rajan Khadgi are likely to open the innings. “We had requested the Malaysian Cricket Board to arrange some warm-up matches against local clubs but nothing worked out as planned,” explained manager Kiran Rana.

Dias issues warning

KUALA LUMPUR: Coach Roy Luke Dias has warned his boys not to eat anything outside and stay at the room unless and until they are asked for. The warning came after Bijay Bhattarai suffered from diahhorea. He has also instructed all the players to contact manager as soon as they have any problem. “It’s nothing serious, Bijay is improving,” said manager Kiran Rana, adding “It took some time as the player did not inform us on time.” — HNS