Nepali youth team, which spent two weeks in New Delhi, India, preparing for the event, is confident of making it to the finals in Bangladesh scheduled for next year.Nepal, Ireland, Papua New Guinea, Uganda and USA will vie for the only spot available for Bangladesh that will host the youth World Cup from January 22 to February 14 next year. The winner of the qualifiers will join 10 full members as well as Afghanistan, Namibia, Canada, Fiji and Scotland.
During its India tour as a part to prepare for the qualifiers Nepal played five matches against different local clubs and that has boosted the morale of Nepali cricketers. The exposure in India has made Nepali team confident of qualifying for the finals.
"We are fully prepared for the qualifiers and our only motto is to secure berth in the finals of Bangladesh," said Coach Jagat Tamata, who added that New Delhi was one of the best places to prepare for the qualifiers as the conditions of Kuala Lumpur are nearly similar to New Delhi.
Nepal will face Papua New Guinea in its opener on Thursday at the Kinrara Oval, Kuala Lumpur and meet Uganda on Friday at Bayuemas Oval. Nepal's third match is against USA on October 19 and fourth against Ireland at the Kinrara on October 21. Final and third place play-off will be held on October 22.
Coach Tamata said that his side will take every match as the final and leave no stone unturned to win matches as every match will be vital.
"We will not underrate any team and will play every match as final because winning is only option to fulfill the dream of booking the tickets to Bangladesh," said Tamata.
Similarly, the venue of Malaysia will not be new for Nepali colts as they recently played the ACC U-19 Premier League held from August 28 to September 3 in Kuala Lumpur where Nepal finished runner-up as it lost only match against winner Afghanistan.
The current squad is almost similar to that which travelled to Malaysia for the Premier League. Similarly, majority of the team members are from the same squad that played ACC U-19 Premier League held in Kuwait that also served as the first phase of selection event for the youth World Cup. Nepal had finished runner-up in Kuwait too after losing to Afghanistan. However, that was enough for Nepal to be qualified for Bangladesh and Nepal got the second chance.
The previous tournaments have also helped Nepali team members to have international exposure and experiences. Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) also conducted trials to select new players but finally decided to depend upon the same experienced players.
According to Tamata his side will play all-round game in Malaysia like the Premier League.
"We will play all-round game as top order, middle order and tail-enders did well in India. Similarly, fast bowlers and spinners are also doing good, so we will continue our all-round performance like in the last event," said Tamata.
Nepal will leave for Malaysia on Tuesday to take part in the qualifiers.
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