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Lamichhane to lead Nepal in ACC Under-19 Asia Cup
Leg spinning sensation Sandeep Lamichhane was named the skipper as Nepal announced a final 15-member squad for the upcoming ACC U-19 Asia Cup on Monday.Leg spinning sensation Sandeep Lamichhane was named the skipper as Nepal announced a final 15-member squad for the upcoming ACC U-19 Asia Cup on Monday.
The Asia Cup will be held in Sri Lanka on December 15-23. Nepal are pooled in Group ‘A’ with Test giants India and Sri Lanka. Malaysia are the other team in the pool. Group ‘B’ features Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Singapore.
Lamichhane recently returned from a brief stint with Michael Clarke’s Western Suburbs, a team that is playing the Australian grade cricket. He hit the limelight during the 2016 ICC U-19 World Cup where he was likened to Australian legendary spinner Shane Warne. Lamichhane was one of the three players retained from the squad that played the U-19 World Cup in Bangladesh. Fast bowling allrounder Dipendra Singh Airee and opening batsman Sandeep Sunar were retained from the previous squad.
Also in the squad is the new-found batting talent Aasif Sheikh, a former U-16 cricketer, who made headlines slamming a breathtaking century during the recently concluded Everest Premier League. Rabindra Jung Shahi, Aadil Khan, Anil Sah, Pawan Sharraf, Suwarnakar Uraw, Kamal Airee, Nandan Yadav, Prakash KC, Avinash Karn and Rohit Paudel made into the final squad.
Shahab Alam, Kishor Mahato, Bikram Bhusal and Sushant Thapa have been kept reserves. T he squad is finalised by an independent selection panel following a closed-camp between 52 players picked up through a nationwide talent hunt. ICC Asia Region Cricket Development Officer Venkatapathi Raju, national cricket team head coach Jagat Tamatta and U-19 coach Binod Das are in the panel. Raju is heading the panel after the suspension of Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) by the International Cricket Council on April 25.
Nepal will begin their Asia Cup campaign with a match against Sri Lanka on December 15. They play India the next day before wrapping up the league fixtures against Malaysia on December 18. The top two teams from each pool will make it to the semi-finals. It will be Nepal’s third appearance in the U-19 Asia Cup. Nepal had crashed out from the league stages in both their previous two participations.
Nepal U-19 Squad
Sandeep Lamichhane (captain), Aasif Sheikh, Dipendra Airee, Sandeep Sunar, Kamal Airee, Rabindra Jung Shahi, Aadil Khan, Anil Sah, Pawan Sarraf, Suwarnakar Uraw, Nandan Yadav, Prakash KC, Avinash Karn, Rohit Paudel, Bhim Sarki