Cricket Association of Nepal on Thursday announced a 16-man squad for Nepal’s upcoming five-match T20 series against West Indies A. The series will begin on Saturday.

Nepal are hosting a West Indies cricket team for the first time in their history. The matches will take place at TU Cricket Ground in Kirtipur.

The series will serve as a preparatory tournament for Nepal’s upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in the West Indies and the United States in June.

Nepal coach Monty Desai has called up the same squad that failed to live up to their billing in Al Amerat, Oman during the recently concluded ACC Men’s T20 Premier Cup. Nepal failed to defend their trophy they won in 2023—which was a one-day international tournament—and could not qualify for the 2025 Asia Cup after losing to the eventual champions United Arab Emirates in the semi-finals by six wickets.

Nepal also missed out on the 2024 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup after losing their third-place playoff match against Hong Kong by four wickets.

However, the squad includes two newcomers in Aarif Sheikh and Aakash Chand. Aarif was an important member of the Nepal A team who played two series against Ireland Wolves earlier this month in Kathmandu. Sheikh had scored 49 (26) and 93 not out (48) against the visiting Ireland team in the first and third T20. Ireland Wolves won the three-match T20 series 2-1.

Aarif was also a member of Nepal A’s squad that played three-match one-day series against Ireland Wolves. He was dropped in the third one-day after he was dismissed for a duck in the first and second one-day games.

Bowler Chand did not play any part in the Ireland Wolves tour of Nepal. But he travelled with the senior men’s cricket team to take part in Hong Kong T20I Series in Mong Kong, where he took seven wickets in his three innings.

Chand rose to limelight in January when his five-wicket haul against Afghanistan U-19 helped Nepal U-19 produce a rare one-wicket win and qualify for Super Six stage of the ICC U-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup.

Nepal have faced off against a West Indies team only once before, during the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe in June last year. Nepal lost to the West Indies by 101 runs.

Nepal’s Squad: Rohit Paudel (c), Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (wk), Anil Sah, Kushal Malla, Sundeep Jora, Dipendra Singh Airee, Gulshan Jha, Bibek Yadav, Pratish GC, Karan KC, Sompal Kami, Abinash Bohara, Lalit Rajbanshi, Aarif Sheikh, Aakash Chand

West Indies A Squad: Roston Chase (Captain), Alick Athanaze (Vice-Captain), Fabian Allen, Kadeem Alleyne, Joshua Bishop, Keacy Carty, Johnson Charles, Mark Deyal, Andre Fletcher, Matthew Forde, Obed McCoy, Gudakesh Motie, Keemo Paul, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh