Along with Karki, the team includes experienced players like Avinash Karn, Ram Naresh Giri, Rahul Pratap Singh and Nishchal Pandey. Karn is the vice-captain of the national team.[break]
Karki, Karn and Giri were part of the Nepali U-19 team that played the ICC U-19 World Cup held in Australia in 2012. Singh was a member 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.
Amit Shrestha, Yagyaman Kumal, Irshad Ahmad, Pawan Shrestha, Bivatsu Thapa, Nirmal Thapa, Sushant Bhari, Prem Tamang and Hari Shankar Shah are the new faces in the U-19 team. Kumal was a reserve player when the Nepali national team played the ICC World Cricket League Division 4 last year.
Amit Dahal, Suraj Kumar Kurmi, Avishek Jha and Sharad Khadka are the reserve players in the team.
The ACC U-19 Elite Cup is scheduled to be held in Malaysia from May 1 to 12. The winner of the tournament will qualify for the U-19 World Cup 2014. If the UAE reaches the final of ACC U-19 Elite Cup, the other finalist will progress to the World Cup as the Gulf country has already qualified for the 2014 tournament as the host.
According to CAN General Secretary Ashok Nath Pyakuryal, Jagat Tamata has been appointed as the coach of the Nepali U-19 team. Tamata had guided Nepal to the U-19 World Cup Qualifiers 2011 and the U-19 World Cup.
Coach Tamata said his side is a team of average players. "There are many new faces along with some experienced players. They lack match exposure and their performance has been average in the practice matches. However, I´m impressed with the way they are progressing," said Tamata.
However, he said the team´s only aim is to win the tournament and qualify for the World Cup. "We have no option but to win the tournament and qualify for the World Cup. This is a platform for the unsung players to prove their mettle and I hope they will succeed," said Tamata.
Nepal is slated in Group B of the tournament along with Qatar, Bahrain, Malaysia and Kuwait. Nepal will start its campaign against Kuwait on May 3. The Nepali team will then face Qatar on May 5 and Bahrain on May 6 before playing its final group 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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