Nepal step into their seventh ICC U-19 World Cup appearance ranked outsiders as the global showpiece of youth cricket begins in Dhaka, Bangladesh from Wednesday.

Nepal have a proud history for an Associate team in the U-19 World Cup having stunned Test giants Pakistan, South Africa and New Zealand in the past. But they head into the tournament as team without star performers capable of  replicating the past successes.

Nepal, once a dominant youth team in Asia among the Associates, has struggled to break into the World Cup after the emergence of now settled giants Afghanistan. Nepal missed out on 2010 and 2014 edition after failing to deliver their best in the regional tournaments. Irrespective of the recent facts, coach Jagat Tamatta has set an ambitious target of reaching the second round from Group ‘D’ that includes Test giants India and New Zealand along with Ireland, who they had defeated twice during the U-19 World Cup Qualifiers last year.

“We have had some good practice matches ahead of the tournament. Those matches (against Pakistan and Sri Lanka) have given us a good exposure. Our target is to reach the second round,” coach Tamatta told the Post from Bangladesh. Nepal, however, will have to accomplish a Herculean task of defeating the two Test teams to fancy a chance in the second round. While India, who are chasing a record fourth title, boast the players with the experience of competing in the Indian Premier League and Ranji Trophy, New Zealand head with a balanced squad itching to claim a title they have never won.

At a time when even domestic tournament has been in a slumber, Nepal go into the big arena after fine-tuning their preparation in India. They lost both their official warm-up games against Pakistan (by 110 runs) and Sri Lanka (by 65 runs). Tamatta will be on a nervous wait to see how his batting department fares against strong teams. 

In the four competitive games ahead of the tournament, they also lost to Afghanistan twice in the friendly game where their batsmen failed to cross 200-run mark. They were bundled out for the scores of 149 and 171 against Afghanistan. Nepal could only manage 181 (against Pakistan) and 165 (against Sri Lanka) in the last two games.

Tamatta believed a proper start from the openers will put them on course for a better performance. “Our top order has a big responsibility. If it gives a good start and manage to cross 200, we have quality spinners who can contain even a good side,” said Tamatta. But it’s Nepal’s top order that has not delivered of late. A 48-run stand (against Afghanistan) between Sandeep Sunar and Sunil Dhamala has been the best stand in their last four games. Since Dhamala has proved himself as a good spinner, left handed Ishan Pandey will be another option for Nepal provided Sunar fails. 

“We have a good middle order. Raju (skipper Raju Rijal) and Aarif (Sheikh) have been playing well. We have to cash in on their experience,” said Tamatta. Apart from the top and middle order, Nepal’s batting performance will also depend on how allrounder Dipendra Airee fares. 

Airee had been the consistent performer, slamming 42 against Pakistan and 33 against Sri Lanka in the warm-ups. Dipesh Shrestha will lead Nepal’s bowling with Airee and Sheikh supporting him with their medium pace attack. Dhamala, Prem Tamang, Sandip Lamichhane and Sushil Kandel will take care of the spin department.