The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has announced a 16-member squad for the upcoming ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2023, which will be held in Sri Lanka from July 14 to 23.
The team is led by Rohit Paudel. He will be joined by a number of experienced players, including Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Aarif Sheikh & Sompal Kami . There are also a few new faces in the squad, including Leg Spinner Shyam Dhakal and Left Arm Spinner Surya Tamang.
The team will be without some of its key players, including Sandeep Lamichhane and Dipendra Airee, who are both playing in the Global T20 Canada tournament. Lamichhane and Airee are set to participate in the Global T20 Canada, scheduled from July 20th to August 6th. Lamichhane will represent the Surrey Jaguars, while Airee will join the Montreal Tigers. It will be Dipendra Airee’s first appearance in the Global Franchise T20 tournament.
In the absence of Sandeep Lamichhane, the promising young leg-spinner Shyam Dhakal, also known as Mausam Dhakal, has been included in the squad. Furthermore, top-order batsman Dev Khanal makes a comeback after a year, adding depth to the team’s batting line-up. Left-arm spinner Surya Tamang has also earned a place in the squad. Additionally, Sundeep Jora, who was not part of the ICC World Cup qualifiers team, has made a strong comeback as a batsman.
Nepal will play its first match against Pakistan A on July 14 at the Colombo Cricket Club Ground. They will then face India A on July 17 and the United Arab Emirates A on July 19.
The final 16-member squad for Nepal includes Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Arjun Saud, Rohit Paudel (c), Kushal Malla, Aarif Sheikh, Dev Khanal, Gulsan Jha, Sompal Kami, Bhim Sharki, Shyam Dhakal, Pratish GC, Lalit Rajbanshi, Kishore Mahato, Sandeep Jora, and Surya Tamang.
The full squad is as follows:
- Kushal Bhurtel
- Aasif Sheikh
- Arjun Saud
- Rohit Paudel (captain)
- Kushal Malla
- Aarif Sheikh
- Dev Khanal
- Gulsan Jha
- Sompal Kami
- Bhim Sharki
- Shyam Dhakal
- Pratish GC
- Lalit Rajbanshi
- Kishore Mahato
- Sundeep Jora
- Surya Tamang
The highly-anticipated ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2023, the fifth edition of the tournament, will be held across various venues in Sri Lanka from July 14th to July 23rd. Nepal’s campaign kicks off on July 14th with a match against Pakistan A at the Colombo Cricket Club Ground, Colombo. Subsequently, they will face India A on July 17th at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Lastly, on July 19th, Nepal will take on the United Arab Emirates A team at the P Sara Oval in Colombo.
India, Pakistan , Bangladesh and afghanistan already announced the squad
Pakistan A Squad : Mohammad Haris (captain, wicketkeeper) (Peshawar), Omair Bin Yousuf (vice-captain) (Karachi), Amad Butt (Sialkot), Arshad Iqbal (Swabi), Haseebullah (Quetta), Kamran Ghulam (Peshawar), Mehran Mumtaz (Rawalpindi), Mubasir Khan (Islamabad), Mohammad Wasim Jnr (North Waziristan), Qasim Akram (Lahore), Sahibzada Farhan (Charsadda), Saim Ayub (Karachi), Shahnawaz Dahani (Larkana), Sufiyan Muqeem (AJK) and Tayyab Tahir (Gujrat)
India A squad: Sai Sudharsan, Abhishek Sharma (VC), Nikin Jose, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, Yash Dhull (C), Riyan Parag, Nishant Sindhu, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Manav Suthar, Yuvrajsinh Dodiya, Harshit Rana, Akash Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Rajvardhan Hangargekar
Bangladesh A Squad : Mohammed Saif Hassan (Captain), Mohammad Parvez Hossain Emon,
Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Shahadat Hossain, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan (Vice Captain), Soumya Sarkar, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rakibul Hasan, Mohammad Mrittunjoy Chowdhury Nipun, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Ripon Mondol, Mohammad Musfik Hasan, Akbar Ali, Naim Sheikh
Afghanistan A Squad : Shahidullah Kamal (Skipper), Ikram Alikhil (WK), Ishaq Rahimi (WK), Riaz Hassan, Ihsanullah Jannat, Noor Ali Zadran, Zubaid Akbari, Baheer Shah, Allah Noor Nasiri, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Izharulhaq Naveed, Wafadar Momand, Ibrahim Abdulrahimzai, Salim Safi, Zia Ur Rehman Akbar, and Bilal Sami.
