The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) announced its 16-man Squad, including travel reserves, for the upcoming ODI series against Canada and Oman in Australia.
Nepal is set to play in the CWC League-2 matches against Canada and Oman from September 16 to September 24. Each team will play two matches against both teams.
Nepal has just played 4 matches in the ICC CWC League-2 Cycle matches against the Netherlands and Namibia at their home grounds in February.
However, Nepal couldn’t take the home-ground advantage and home-team support to convert into the best result possible as they only managed a single win against the Netherlands while losing both matches to Namibia.
Also Read: How Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett Lead the charge for Run making on the first day.
Nepal is currently at No. 7 in the Points table of the ICC CWC League 2 with 2 points in 4 matches with a negative run rate of 0.116. Netherlands is on the top with 12 points while UAE is on the bottom with 0 points.
Here’s the latest ICC CWC League 2 updated points table according to ICC.
Points Table of ICC CWC League 2
| Teams | Matches Played | Won | Lost | Tied | No Result | NRR | Points |
| Netherlands | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.287 | 12 |
| Scotland | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1.503 | 9 |
| Canada | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | -0.139 | 8 |
| Namibia | 8 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -0.366 | 8 |
| USA | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | +0.090 | 4 |
| Oman | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | -1.066 | 2 |
| Nepal | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | -0.118 | 2 |
| UAE | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | -1.072 | 0 |
Nepal has recently toured Sri Lanka to play an unofficial 3-match OD series with the Sri Lanka Development Board. The first and the second OD matches got disturbed by the rain and play was not possible.
Nepal lost the third game with SL Development by 5 wickets as Nepal only managed to post 159 runs to the board in the 40 overs losing all of their wickets. SL Dev in runchase chased down the target within 26 overs while losing 5 wickets and sealed the game with 5 wicket victory.
The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) announced their squad under the captaincy of Rohit Paudel. Rohit’s captaincy and coordination with Head Coach Monty Desai have been fantastic in the previous CWC League-2 editions, managing 11 out of 12 wins to qualify for the World Cup Qualifier 2023.
Nepal’s Squad for the Canada Series
Rohit Paudel(C), Kushal Bhurtel, Aarif Sheikh (WK), Anil Sah (WK), Bhim Sharki, Aarif Sheikh, Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Arjun Saud, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Gulshan Kumar Jha, Rijan Dhakal, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi Dev Khanal (Travelling Reserve)
Nepal’s Match Fixtures
Nepal will play 2 matches each against Canada and Oman in this series. Canada has won the first four matches of ICC CWC League-2 however lost its last 4 matches and will look to come back again while Oman and Nepal look at quite similar Situations.
| Matches | Dates | Venues | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nepal vs Canada | 16 September | Maple Leaf Cricket Ground | 7:45 PM or 19:45 |
| Nepal vs Oman | 18 September | Maple Leaf Cricket Ground | 7:45 PM or 19:45 |
| Nepal vs Canada | 22 September | Maple Leaf Cricket Ground | 7:45 PM or 19:45 |
| Nepal vs Oman | 24 September | Maple Leaf Cricket Ground | 7:45 PM or 19:45 |
Nepal will look to make a strong comeback against Canada and Oman in this series to put themselves strong in the points table while Canada will look to take home advantage.
Key Players to focus on Nepal vs Canada Match
Sandeep Lamichhane will be in focus as it is his first ODI series after his comeback. Recent performers =of the SL Development series Gulshan Jha and Kushal Bhurtel will also be in prime focus in the important match.
Young Captain Rohit Paudel will also be valuable for his team’s running tactics and use of players However, efforts and contributions from every member of the team are a must to win the matches.
What’s your opinion on Nepal’s strong squad? Can they make a comeback in the points table? What’s your prediction for the Nepal vs Canada match, Comment below
