KATHMANDU, Aug 30: U-19 starlets Rit Gautam, Kushal Malla, Sagar Dhakal and left-handed batsman Ishan Pandey have been included for the first time in the national cricket team during the 35-member preliminary squad announced for the South Asian Games (SAG) on Thursday.
Right-handed opening batsman Gautam, left-handed all-rounder Malla and left-arm spinner Dhakal are currently in Sri Lanka preparing for the upcoming ACC U-19 Asia Cup from September 5.
Likewise, Raju Rijal, Amit Shrestha and Jitendra Singh Mukhiya also retained their place in the closed camp after their good form in domestic one-day event Prime Minister Cup (PM) which was concluded on January 8.
Mukhiya earned a sudden international fame after producing goods for Nepal in the previous ICC World T20 event held in Bangladesh in 2014. But after that, poor form and injuries plagued the right-arm fast bowler’s career.
He gave an impressive performance for Tribhuvan Army Club in the recently concluded PM Cup.
In-form batsman Shrestha, former U-19 captain Rijal, left-arm spin duo of Susan Bhari and Shahab Alam, all-rounder Kushal Bhurtel, and young fast bowler Nandan Yadav were also included.
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Shrestha played a lead role in Nepal Police Club’s PM Cup campaign. Rijal was the highest scorer in the tournament. Similarly, Bhurtel, Yadav, and Mukhiya made impressive performance with their bowling skills for Police, Province 3 and Tribhuvan Army Club respectively.
Likewise, the newcomers of the country’s last tour, in which Nepal defeated the United Arab Emirates in both ODIs and T20Is series -- Bhim Sarki, Pawan Sarraf, Abinash Bohora and Sundeep Jora – continue to remain in contention for national team.
Saurav Khanal and Aasif Sheikh are also called up with impressive performance in recent matches for domestic and national U-19 team respectively. Anil Kumar Sah also made the shortlist despite having mixed campaign for Police Club.
The selection committee was headed by head coach Umesh Patwal and national squad captain Paras Khadka. The closed camp is set to start from September 1 in Tribhuvan University (TU) international cricket stadium in Kathmandu.
The South Asian Olympic Council (SAOC) had finalized 27 sports disciplines for the 13th edition of the SAG which is being held in Nepal for the third time. Nepal had hosted the first South Asian Federation Games in 1984 and eighth edition in 1999.
The TU cricket ground is proposed to host the men’s cricket whereas Pokhara Stadium’s cricket ground will host women’s cricket.
Nepal will host India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Maldives during the Games.
SQUAD
Paras Khadka, Gyanendra Malla, Sharad Vesawkar, Basant Regmi, Raju Rijal, Jitendra Kumar Mukhiya, Pradeep Airee, Sunil Dhamala, Saurabh Khanal, Lalit Singh Bhandari, Bikram Sob, Ishan Pandey, Karan KC, Aasif Sheikh, Binod Bhandari, Sundeep Jora, Kushal Malla, Rit Gautam, Pawan Sarraf, Amit Shrestha, Kishore Mahato, Aarif Sheikh, Sushan Bhari, Anil Kumar Sah, Abinash Bohara, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi, Nandan Yadav, Rohit Kumar Paudel, Bhim Sharki, Kushal Bhurtel, Dipendra Singh Airee, Sompal Kami, Sagar Dhakal, Shahab Alam
Shrestha, Mahato to face Singapore
Nepal cricketers Amit Shrestha and Kishore Mahato are set to travel for Singapore to play matches against Singapore National Team in exhibition matches from August 30 to September 9.
Right-handed opening batsman Shrestha and right-arm pace bowler Mahato will be featuring for an unnamed combined team of Nepal, Malaysia and Singapore.
