Newly appointed Nepal national cricket team coach Manoj Prabhakar said that Nepali players were quick learners and the difference in performance would be seen in Nepal’s Kenya tour as the team left for the East African nation on Monday to play a five-match Twenty20 International Series and two One-Day games.

“I realised all young players are eager to learn and perform. This is a good sign for the young team. I will try my level best to make them perform,” said the Indian coach who took charge of the team on August 15 following the resignation of Pubudu Dassanayake. “I hope we will do well and the Kenya tour is very good before our season [World Cricket League 2] starts. I hope we will get a very good practice match.”

Nepal are languishing second from bottom in the seven-team ICC World Cup League 2, the pathway for the 2023 ICC World Cup. The sides finishing on top three positions at the completion of the Series will earn a direct berth for the World Cup qualifiers and top five teams will retain One-Day International status. The bottom three teams will have to go through playoffs involving six teams for a place in the Qualifiers.

“We had a really good practice session but just two or three days in open (outdoor), otherwise at the indoor facilities. They are in the learning process and it is very quick. You will see the difference in the Kenya tour,” said the former India national team’s all-rounder during a farewell programme in Kathmandu on Monday.

“The main strength of the team depends upon the ability to play and bowl new ball. It depends upon how they play. I am also trying my level best to make them understand how to face the swing bowl, the part missing in Nepali team. I hope they will learn it as soon as possible. As a coach my target is to make the team perform. The youngsters are really talented. It’s a raw team and they could be the best team within a year,” said Prabhakar who was also full of praise for his captain Sandeep Lamichhane.

“We have got a very young and dynamic captain who has always supported the team and is ready to perform from the front,” he added.

Captain Lamichhane said that the tour will install fresh energy to the team.

“This tour is important for us because there are lots of new faces and some players have made a comeback in the squad. Kenya is also the first tour for sir [coach] and a kind of fresh start up with new energy. Though we had really short practice time, the enthusiasm in players and eagerness to learn and try some new things was outstanding. We will come up with good results as expected,” said Lamichhane.

Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) president Chatur Bahadur Chand defended the decision of sending Team Nepal to Kenya, a lower ranked side than Nepal in the T20I rankings. Nepal are placed 14th and Kenya 30th in the latest ICC rankings.

“Though Kenya are a lower ranked side than us, they have thrown tough challenges to strong sides like India in the semi-final of the ODI World Cup in the past [2003]. We have Namibia Series [League 2] in the second week of November. It’s rainy season in South Asia now and we are practising indoors here. We got a request for the bilateral series from Kenya and accepted it,” said Chand.

“The matches will serve as practice games ahead of the big series and I believe coach Prabhakar will get the opportunity to have insightful knowledge about the players. Our last two Series was worth forgetting,” said Chand referring to Nepal’s outcome of the League 2 which saw Nepal win two, lose five and play to a tie in one among eight games.