The 14-member Nepali squad for the ACC Fast Track Nations Tournament matches against Singapore and Malaysia announced by Cricket Association of Nepal.
Young wicket-keeper batsman Mahesh Chettri broke into the national team for the first time as Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) announced the 14-member team for the upcoming three-day matches against Malaysia and Singapore under ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament.
Mahesh has represented Nepal at the age-group level. He is the only new face in the team and has replaced Bikash Dali from the team that played against Malaysia in the InterContinental Cup tie in Kathmandu. Bikash has been named in alternative players along with left-arm spinner Lakpa Lama, Dhiren Chand and Yunil Shrestha.
Raju Khadka and Binod Das have retained their position as captain and vice-captain. Other named for the tour are Shakti Gauchan, Dipendra Chaudhary, Mehboob Alam, Paresh Lohani, Rajkumar Pradhan, Sanjam Regmi, Paras Khadka, Sarad Veswakar, Kaniska Chaugai, Raju Basnet and Manoj Katuwal.
Nepal will play Malaysia on September 17, 18 and 19 and then fly to Singapore. The match against Singapore is scheduled for September 24, 25 and 26. The ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament is a 5-nation tournament also involving United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong. Nepal is scheduled to play UAE and Hong Kong in October later this year. The matches are not official first-class matches like that of the ICC InterContinental Cup.
Roy Dias will coach the team in the tour while Ashok Nath Pyakurel and Basant Raj Satyal have been named team manager and assistant manager for the tour.