Sports
ACC u-19 Premier: Nepal prepare for big battle
Nepal will take the ACC U-19 Premier in Malaysia, slated for August 28-September 3, as an opportunity to prepare for the upcoming ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup Qualifier.Adarsha Dhakal
Nepal will take the ACC U-19 Premier in Malaysia, slated for August 28-September 3, as an opportunity to prepare for the upcoming ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup Qualifier.
Nepal last played the U-19 World Cup in 2012 and after missing out a spot in 2014, they are desperate to return to cricket’s age-group global showpiece in Bangladesh in 2016. To underline themselves as one of the contenders in the five-team October 14-23 Qualifier, their game in Malaysia will be a barometre of their cricketing prowess.
Coach Jagat Tamatta finds himself at an identical situation to that of 2011. Tamatta had guided Nepal to the 2012 U-19 World Cup in Australia after Nepal missed out on a spot for 2010 showpiece. But Tamatta believes the situation is different this time around.
“When I guided Nepal into the 2012 U-19 World Cup, the members in the squad were pretty experienced. They had exposures and experience of playing with the national team. But this team has a set of players who are starting from the scratch,” said the U-19 coach Tamatta.
“I believe that the ACC U-19 Premier will be a reality check for our boys. We have strong middle order batsmen but a fragile openers. I hope to return with the opening boost and make our plans accordingly for the Qualifier,” said Tamatta.
Tamatta is planning to test four batsmen—Aashish Dhami, Sandeep Sunar, Shankar Rana and Sunil Dhamala—as opening batsmen in Malaysia. Tamatta pins hopes on the middle order led by skipper Raju Rijal and experienced Aarif Sheikh.
“Sheikh can hold the innings because he has experience of playing with the senior side. I don’t want to call Raju an experienced man but his batting abilities will be crucial,” said Tamatta.
According to the coach, Nepal will play with one regular seamer, Dipesh Shrestha, while rest of the bowling depends on the medium pace attack of Sheikh, Sunar and Saurav Khanal along with spinners Sushil Kandel, Prem Tamang and Dhamala.
Nepal’s top opponents in the six-team U-19 Premier would be defending champions Afghanistan, hosts Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates. While the Afghans fine-tuned their preparation against Sri Lanka U-19, the well-facilitated Malaysians and the UAE have lifted their standard in the age-group cricket of late.
With monsoon at its peak, Nepali boys have managed to undergo a 45-day of training, thanks to the newly built indoor facilities. The only area that Tamatta regrets is the inability of playing full (practice) matches.
“I know Afghanistan’s juniors have been getting international exposure and the UAE and Malaysia are also well-equipped with proper infrastructure. But our guys have worked very hard and we believe we can come up with good results,” said Tamatta.
Rijal, who is into his second consecutive ACC U-19 Premier and who holds the experience of playing against India and Pakistan in the 2013-14 ACC U-19 Asia Cup in the UAE, wanted to leave for Malaysia high on confidence.
“It has been good preparation for us despite the rain interruption. The middle order has quite a few allrounders and there are experienced batsmen along with spinners. We have a good team,” said Rijal. “Our target is nothing less than the
title. All of us have worked really very hard. We are looking forward to it,” added the skipper.
The top place finishers after the round robin league will not only win the tournament but also secure a place in the 2018 U-19 World Cup, while the second-place finishers will make it to the Qualifier. Nepal will start their campaign with a match against the UAE on the opening day at the Bayemas Oval.
To underline themselves as main contenders in the 5-team U-19 World Cup Qualifier, Nepal’s performance in Malaysia will be a barometre of their cricketing prowess
Nepal’s Fixtures
Aug 28 vs UAE
Aug 29 vs Afghanistan
Aug 31 vs Malaysia
Sept 1 vs Kuwait
Sept 3 vs Saudi Arabia