Sports
CAN retains Alam for regional meet
Unpredictable allrounder Mehboob Alam retained his place in the national team as the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) on Wednesday announced the final squadsThe final men’s team squad also saw the return of explosive batsman Pradeep Airee and bowler Jitendra Mukhiya after the duo missed the ACC Premier League held in Malaysia in May due to injuries. The Under-19 skipper Bhuwan Karki also won a place in the senior side after the 2012 ACC Trophy Elite held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in October.
Alam had returned to the national fold through May’s ACC Premier League after a two-year absence. He previously played for Nepal in the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers in the UAE. He was included for the Premier League after a remarkable performance in the One Day National Tournament. Selectors have kept faith in the cricketer despite his modest performance in Malaysia where he scored 63 runs with a half century as well as picked up four wickets to prove his allround credentials.
Paras Khadka will lead the side in the Twenty20 tournament in the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, with the regional games set for a September 19 start. Gyanendra Malla has been named the vice-captain. The other members in the squad included Sharad Vesawkar, Subash Khakurel, Shakti Gauchan, Sagar Pun, Binod Bhandari, Som Pal Kami, Basant Regmi, Ram Naresh Giri and Naresh Budhayer.
Rahul Kumar BK, Puspa Thapa, Manjeet Shrestha and Rajkumar Pradhan were kept reserves. Arun Aryal is the team coach and Srinivas Rana the team manager. The men’s event will be participated in by Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Kuwait, Maldives and South Korea.
Meanwhile, Rubina Chhetri has retained the captaincy of the women’s national team with Mamta Thapa named her deputy. Sarita Magar, Sita Rana Magar, Karuna Bhandari, Shobha Ale, Rekha Rawala, Indu Verma, Kajal Shrestha, Nary Thapa Magar, Sonu Khadka, Saraswoti Chaudhary, Mamta Kumari Chaudhary, Anjali Chand and Trishna Singh are the other members in the women’s team. Kabita Gautam, Binu Budha Magar, Jyoti Pandey and Roshani Bohora were named reserves.
Navin Singh is the coach and Sanjay Raj Singh the team manager. Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand, China, Nepal, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia and Hong Kong will compete in the women’s event.
Nepal take on Thailand today
Nepal will take on Thailand in the inaugural day of the ACC U-16 Premier League at the Selangor Turf Club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Thursday.
The 40-over-a-side cricket tournament is the first of its kind after the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) decided to go with a league competition among the six teams who are at the top of its rankings.
Along with Nepal and hosts Malaysia, who are the previous champions of the ACC U-16 Elite, Bahrain, Singapore, Oman and Thailand are the top-ranked premier teams to feature in the event. The team holding the top spot after the league matches will be declared the champions.