CRICKET-Nepal put forward a young but strong squad.

KIRTIPUR, Nepal, CMC—There were no major surprises when the Cricket Association of Nepal announced its provisional 15-member squad for the ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup in June in the Caribbean and the United States.

Rohit Paudel, the most prolific batsman in the ongoing five-match T20 home series against West Indies “A,” including a hundred in the opener, will lead the global showpiece.

Many players were rewarded for their form in matches at the Asian Cricket Council Premier Cup in Oman and the matches against West Indies “A.”

Spin-bowling all-rounder Dipendra Singh Airee, fresh off his world record-equalling exploits of hitting six sixes in an over against Qatar in April, will float in the batting order, with players such as Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh.

Gulshan Jha joins several young players in the squad after appearing in the ICC Men’s Under-19 World Cup earlier this year in South Africa, and teenaged left-arm pacer Pratish Gharti Chhetri has kept his place.

Bibek Yadav, Aarif Sheikh, Binod Bhandari, Aakash Chand, and Lokesh Bam, who have all featured against West Indies “A,” are not part of the squad. However, batsmen Sundeep Jora, who has not featured in the series, and Anil Sah have kept their places.

Sompal Kami is the only surviving member of the Nepal squad who appeared in the T20 World Cup a decade ago in Bangladesh.

The 28-year-old pace bowling all-rounder is joined by cult hero Karan Khatri Chhetri, 32, as the elder statesmen in the group.

Left-arm spinner Lalit Rajbanshi will lead their spin threat.

All teams are allowed to change their squads until May 25, after which any alterations will require approval from the event’s technical committee.

Nepal is in Group D of the tournament with The Netherlands and three Test-playing nations – Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and South Africa.

They open the tournament against the Dutch on June 4 at the Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Dallas, Texas.

This will be the first time in 10 years that they will appear in the T20 World Cup after securing a place after finishing as runner-up in the Asia qualifying tournament.