The Nepali U-19 team led by coach Jagat Tamata and captain Bhuwan Karki includes experienced players like Avinash Karn, Ram Naresh Giri, Rahul Pratap Singh and Nishchal Pandey. Karki, Karn and Giri were members of the Nepali U-19 team that played the ICC U-19 World Cup in Australia in 2012. Singh was a part of the Nepali U-19 team that finished second in the ACC U-19 Elite Cup 2011 held in Thailand while Pandey was a member of the team that finished second in the ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifiers 2011 held in Ireland.[break]
´The team is mentally and physically tough and ready to face challenges,´ said coach Tamata after the farewell function organized by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) at the National Sports Council on Tuesday.
´There are no big names and popular players in the team. There are average players but they are ready to take the charge,´ said Tamata. ´Captain Bhuwan (Karki) will spearhead the spin bowling while Avinash (Karn) will lead the pace attack. We have batsmen like Amit Shrestha in the team. We have to score around 200 runs in every match to win and we are capable of doing it,´ he added.
He said the team"s only aim is to win the tournament and qualify for the World Cup.
Skipper Karki described the tournament as an opportunity and a challenge for him as a captain. ´We have new talents in the team but we are ready to take up every challenge. Our only aim is to qualify for the U-19 World Cup,´ said Karki.
´The senior team has lost its first two matches in Division 4. We want to bring back smiles on the faces of Nepali cricket fans during the ACC U-19 tournament,´ he added.
The winner of the ACC U-19 Elite Cup will progress to the U-19 World Cup 2014. If the UAE reaches the final of ACC U-19 Elite Cup, the other finalist will advance to the World Cup as the Arab nation has already qualified for the 2014 tournament as the host.
Nepal has been drawn in Group B of the tournament along with Qatar, Bahrain, Malaysia and Kuwait. Nepal will take on Kuwait on May 3 in its first match of the tournament. The Nepali team will then face Qatar on May 5 and Bahrain on May 6 before playing its final group stage match against Malaysia on May 8.
Nepal had won the ACC U-19 Elite Cup in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007 while it had finished runner-up in 1999 and 2011. Afghanistan had defeated Nepal in the final of the last edition held in Thailand in 2011.
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