By a Staff Reporter
Kathmandu – Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has announced a 30-member preliminary squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup Global Qualifiers A to be held in the third week of February in Oman.
Chief coach Pubudu Dassanayake announced the 30-member squad to play in the qualifiers. The team includes players like Bhim Karki, Sharad Vesawkar, Pradeep Aire, Saurav Khanal, Rajesh Pulami Magar who have made a comeback in the national team. CAN will shortlist the squad during the closed camp training and pick up the best players from the PM Cup Cricket Tournament.
CAN has requested the National Sports Council to organize the PM Cup One-Day Cricket Tournament in T20 format. The PM Cup will be held from January 9 to January 21 in Kathmandu. Head coach Dassanayake said that they will select players on the basis of their performance in the PM Cup. The closed camp training is beginning from coming Saturday.
The Group A matches of T20 World Cup Global Qualifiers will be held from February 15 to 25, 2022 in Oman. Nepal are drawn in Group A against Ireland, hosts Oman, the UAE, the Philippines, Germany, Canada and Bahrain. The top two teams from the group will secure their places in the T20 World Cup to be held in Australia.
The Group B matches of the global qualifiers will be held in Zimbabwe. Group B includes Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Jersey, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Uganda and the USA. The Group B qualifiers will be held from July 8 to 18. The T20 World Cup is scheduled for upcoming October/November in Australia. The T20 World Cup will feature 20 teams from 2024 edition. Nepal’s one and only appearance in the T20 World Cup was in 2014 when Dassanayake was the head coach.
Nepal’s 30-member preliminary squad:
Sandeep Lamichhane, Gyanendra Malla, Dipendra Singh Aire, Sharad Vesawkar, Karan KC, Sompal Kami, Mohammad Aarif Sheikh, Binod Bhandari, Kushal Malla, Kushal Bhurtel, Mohammad Asif Sheikh, Kamal Singh Aire, Sahab Alam, Sandeep Jora, Avinash Bohora, Sushan Bhari, Pawan Sarraf, Bikram Sob, Bhim Karki, Rohit Kumar Poudel, Pradeep Aire, Sulshan Jha, Nandan Yadav, Jitendra Mukhiya, Bivek Kumar Yadav, Saurav Khanal, Rajesh Pulami Magar, Kishor Mahato, Sagar Dhakal and Hari Shankar Shah.
