Lohani is still in the national squad that is participating in the ICC World T20 Qualifiers, which begins from Tuesday in the UAE. The qualifiers could open the door to Nepal for the ICC World T20 Cup to be held in Sri Lanka.[break]
Lohani, who made a comeback in the national team recently, is upbeat again to pursue his World Cup dream.
“I’m as excited and energized as I was in 2001,” said Lohani. “The Qualifiers is a lifetime opportunity for every players of the squad,” he added.
Nepal is the lowest ranked team in the tournament participated by 10 teams.
However, the national team is all set to challenge opponents and prove its caliber. “I don’t believe in ranking. We’ll challenge our opponents and try to reach the semifinals and pursue World Cup dream there after,” said Paras Khadka, captain of the team.
In its qualification campaign, Nepal will face Hong Kong as a first hurdle in the group stage. Nepal will lock horns with Hong Kong on Tuesday at the ICC Global Cricket Academy, UAE.
Nepal had earlier faced Hong Kong during the ACC Twenty 20 Championship held in Kathmandu December last year. Nepal had registered a two-wicket victory in the group stage match.
Nepal had qualified for the tournament gaining the top-three positions apart from Afghanistan during the ACC Twenty 20 Championship held in Kathmandu.
This will be the third meeting of Hong Kong and Nepal in T20 format. In their two previous encounters, Nepal and Hong Kong won a match each. In the six 50-over matches they have played against each other, both have won three matches.
Nepal and Hong Kong are placed in group A along with Denmark, Papua New Guinea, Afghanistan, Bermuda, the Netherlands and Canada.
Two teams will qualify from the tournament for the ICC World T20 Cup to be held in Sri Lanka.
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