Baskota will lead the team that would try to qualify for the ICC U-19 World Cup, the selection committee of the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) announced. [break]
Rahul Biswokarma is named vice-captain of the team that consists of four debutant players. Rajesh Pulami, Mohammad Hashim, Faizal Khan and Rahul Pratap Singh are the players who have not represented the nation in any age-group level.
Other members of the team are Naresh Budhayar, Subash Khakurel, Pradeep Airee, Bhuwan Karki, Bibek Dali, Avinash Karn, Krishna Karki and Sagar Pun.
Four stand-by players for the event are Shiva Kumar Tandukar, Bibek Chaudhary, Amit Shrestha and Sameer Nepal.
The ACC U-19 Elite Cup is scheduled to be held in Thailand from February 1 to 10. Nepal is in Group B along with Afghanistan, Oman, UAE and Thailand for league matches.
Nepal is the four-time winner of the event. It missed the final for the first time in 10 years in the last edition losing to Afghanistan.
The event serves as the qualifiers for the ICC U-19 World Cup qualifiers to be participated by regional finalists.
Nepali team will travel to Sylhet, Bangladesh for three practice matches against Bangladesh U-19 team. The matches are scheduled for January 26, 27 and 29, according to CAN.
In a press meet organized to announce the team, CAN president Binaya Raj Pandey said that the selection procedure this year was different as the players´ performance during the training camp and practice matches were taken into account along with their performance in the national tournament.
Chief selector Bijaya Sharma hoped that the team would return victorious. “The team is strong,” he said. “It also defeated APF Club, which boosts national players and I believe this team can win the ACC U-19 Elite Cup.”
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