Spinner Sagar Dhakal has been added to the Nepali national cricket squad that left for Oman on Tuesday to play a Quadrangular Twenty20 International Series ahead of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Global Qualifiers.

The Series featuring Nepal, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and hosts Oman will take place from February 11 to 14 while the Global Qualifiers will be played from February 18 to 24. The final squad for Global Qualifiers will be announced on the basis of the players' performance in the four-team tournament.

Youth cricketer Dhakal, who represented Nepal in the ACC U-19 Asia Cup in 2019, has been called to the national fold for the first time by coach Pubudu Dassanayake. Along with Dhakal, the now 17-member national team will be studded with three new faces along with allrounder Bibek Yadav and batter Lokesh Bam.

Twenty-one-year-old Dhakal came to the limelight during the last edition of the franchise tournament Everest Premier League when he was named player-of-the-series. The left arm orthodox bowler had played a key role in Chitwan Tigers' title triumph claiming 14 wickets in seven matches.

Coach Dassanayake has said that he would pick the final squad for the Qualifiers based on the players' performances in the preparatory series.

"We have got three warm-up games before the Global Qualifiers. I am looking to have different combinations and see how these guys will go. We are going to have a final combination of best guys for the Qualifiers," Dassanayake said recently, whose side will go into the tournament with an ambition of making it to the World T20 finals for a second time since making their maiden appearance in 2014.

The Group 'A' of the Global Qualifiers features eight teams with Nepal, Oman, Canada and the Philippines pitted in Group '2'. Group '1' comprises Ireland, the UAE, Germany and Bahrain. The top two finishers of each group will make it to the semi-final and the two finalists will book tickets for World T20 finals in November.

Nepal will vie against Oman on February 11, the UAE on the next day and Ireland on February 14 in the Quadruplet series. In the Global Qualifiers, Nepal are drawn to play against Oman on February 18, the Philippines on February 19 and Canada on February 21 in the group stage.

Nepal squad

Sandeep Lamichhane (C), Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Dipendra Singh Airee, Gyanendra Malla, Sharad Vesawkar, Aarif Sheikh, Karan KC, Jitendra Mukhiya, Abinash Bohora, Shahab Alam, Kushal Malla, Kamal Singh Airee, Bibek Yadav, Pradeep Airee, Lokesh Bam, and Sagar Dhakal.