Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has appointed former U-19 skipper Rohit Kumar Paudel as the vice-captain of the senior national team.
Rohit, who has been in an ominous form for the last few series, has been named the deputy to captain Sandeep Lamichhane for Nepal’s tour of the USA. Nepal are playing the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 Triangular Series against the Americans and Oman from the second week of June.
Since Nepal will also leave for Scotland from USA for another Tri-Series under the same event, Rohit will be expected to remain in the post for long. The post had remained vacant after the country’s cricket governing body sacked Dipendra Singh Airee and regular captain Gyanendra Malla under disciplinary grounds.
While Dipendra has managed to cement his place owing to a magnificent form off late, Gyanendra has not been in the team after Nepal returned from their ICC Twenty20 World Cup Qualifier campaign in Oman since February.
Despite his allround exploits which has seen him vault into the top 10 allrounder in the International Cricket Council rankings, Dipendra has not been considered for the vice-captain job. Gyanendra, meanwhile, was left out when Nepal announced the final squad for the series in the USA.
With Nepali senior team currently going through a transition phase, coach Pubudu Dassanayake has put his money on youngsters Dev Khanal and Aadil Ansari for the USA series. He has also brought back Sunil Dhamala in the team, while young Kishor Mahato and Sagar Dhakal are the two new faces in the side.
Nepal Team for USA Tour
Sandeep Lamichhane (capt), Rohit Kumar Paudel (vice-captain), Aasif Sheikh, Aarif Sheikh, Kushal Bhurtel, Dipendra Singh Airee, Binod Bhandari, Dev Khanal, Sunil Dhamala, Md Aadil Ansari, Karan KC, Sompal Kami, Bikram Sob, Kishor Mahato, Sagar Dhakal
