Long-time Nepali national cricket team regulars Sharad Vesawkar and Basanta Regmi were on Thursday conspicuously left out of the squad for the upcoming triangular and five-nation Twenty20 series.

Nepal announced a 15-member squad for back-to-back two T20 series with veteran allrounder Vesawakar and left-arm spinner Regmi were the big casualties. The triangular series involving hosts Singapore and Zimbabwe is slated for September 27 to October 3 while the five-nation series is scheduled for October 5-10 in Oman. Hosts Oman, Hong Kong, the Netherlands and Ireland and Nepal will compete in the five-nation series which has been organised as part of the teams’ preparations for the Twenty20 Global World Cup Qualifiers set for October-November in the United Arab Emirates. Nepal, however, failed to earn a berth the Global Qualifiers but will still play the five-nation series.

Also missing out of the squad were Pradeep Airee and long-time Khadka’s deputy Gyanendra Malla, who chose not to be considered for the series for personal reasons. Allrounder Kushal Malla and top-order batsman Ishan Pandey sneaked into the senior team in place of Vesawkar and Regmi. Left-handers Kushal and Pandey were selected following their impressive performances in the age-group tournaments.

Both Pandey and Kushal expressed their happiness and committed to give their best for the team. An MBBS student, Pandey said the competition to break into the national team fold was very tough. On his batting position, Pandey says, “I have been opening the innings all my career, therefore it will not be any different provided I get a chance. I will aim to perform well and try and win matches for my team. I am looking forward to the day when I contribute to the team for a winning cause.” Kushal said he would be ready to bat in any position but was more comfortable in No 6 position.

In the absence of Gyanendra, the former U-19 skipper Dipendra Singh Airee has been named as deputy to Paras Khadka. Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Binod Bhandari, Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi, Pawan Sarraf, Sandeep Lamichhane, Abinash Bohara and Rohit Kumar Paudel are the other member of the squad. Aarif Sheikh, Sundeep Jhora and Sushan Bhari also return to the squad. A three-member independent selection team including ICC representative Animul Islam, coach Umesh Patwal and skipper Paras Khadka finalised the squad.

Nepal’s head coach Umesh Patwal said: “Our ambition now is to build a better team for the future with the immediate priority being the 13th South Asian Games”. Patwal had previously targeted Nepal to appear in the second Twenty20 World Cup but changed the priorities following his team’s failure to reach the Global Qualifiers. Hosts Singapore pipped Nepal in the ICC T20 World Cup Asia Qualifiers, the final gateway to the Global Qualifiers.

Patwal said his team will now look for a medal at the regional Games scheduled for December 1-10 in Kathmandu and Pokhara. On inclusion of new players, Patwal added, “We are giving exposure to young boys. Our approach is to take one tournament at a time. As it remains to be clear about the age limitation of players for the South Asain Games, Sharad and Basanta make way for the new players”. Giving a reference of Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the Indian cricket team, Patwal said the objective was to prepare the best team with better players.

Skipper Khadka prioritised team performance to individual brilliance. With the World Cup cycle beginning soon, Khadka termed the Oman and Singapore tours “a great opportunity for Nepal to ensure a step-by-step transition”. Speaking about his own future with the national team and the role of captaincy, Khadka said he was not sure if he could be fit enough for the 2023 World Cup race owing to fitness. He even said that the role of captaincy could even go to someone else in days ahead depending on the performance of the players in the squad.

On selection of new players, Khadka said the doors remained open for the driven and hard-working cricketers with strong work ethics. He also urged the selected players to think smart as the captain would do. He said such a mindset will increase and enrich team discussions and contribute to efficient decision-making and strategy formulations in specific match scenarios. The skipper also urged the fans to be patient with certain players.

As all matches under the double round-robin league format in Singapore will be played under the lights. Khadka said: “We are comfortable playing night matches. But what really counts are the positive results”.

Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council has appointed Vurity Venkatram as a bowling consultant for Nepal’s T20 series in Singapore and Oman. Patwal said that the appointment would help improve the bowling aspect but also called for a dedicated bowling consultant in the domestic circuit.

Nepal squad

Paras Khadka (c), Dipendra Singh Airee (vc), Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Binod Bhandari, Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi, Pawan Sarraf, Sundeep Jhora, Sandeep Lamichhane, Abinash Bohara, Rohit Kumar Paudel, Aarif Sheikh, Sushan Bhari, Ishan Pandey and Kushal Malla

Tour schedule:

Triangular series in Singapore

Nepal vs Zimbabwe : September 27, 2019

Nepal vs Singapore: September 28, 2019

Nepal vs Zimbabwe: October 1, 2019

Nepal vs Singapore: October 2, 2019

Five-nation series in Oman

Nepal vs Hong Kong: October 06, 2019

Nepal vs Netherlands: October 07, 2019

Nepal vs Ireland: October 09, 2019

Nepal vs Oman: October 10, 2019