The Cricket Association of Nepal announced a 16-member team that will face two-time T20 World Cup champions, the West Indies, at a three-match T20I series in Sharjah at the end of September.

The squad, which was announced on Monday, will be captained by Rohit Kumar Paudel with the world’s No 3 T20I all-rounder, Dipendra Singh Airee, as the vice captain.

Left-arm spinner Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi, who was bereaved of his mother last month and missed the Top End T20 Series and five friendlies in Australia, is also returning to action.

Rajbanshi has 29 wickets in his 31 appearances for the Rhinos in T20Is, making him the sixth-most wicket-taker for the national side in the shortest format.

The other members in the squad include Aasif Sheikh, Kushal Bhurtel, Lokesh Bam, Kushal Malla, Mohammad Adil Alam, Aarif Sheikh, Sundeep Jora, Gulsan Kumar Jha, Nandan Yadav, Karan KC, Sompal Kami, Sandeep Lamichhane and Shahab Alam.

The upcoming series, in which the matches will be played at Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the UAE on September 27, 29 and 30, has been named the ‘Unity Cup’ by the CAN.

According to the CAN, the name for the series was decided in honour of the lives lost during the youth-led protests on September 8 and 9.

“We believe in the power of sports to unite hearts and inspire a nation,” the CAN wrote on its social media on Sunday. “Unity Cup is our call to heal and rejuvenate with passion and harmony to forge a stronger bond to bring everyone together.”

The West Indies are believed to be fielding a strong squad for the series. They have been actively playing cricket. They faced England, Ireland, Australia and Pakistan since June.