ICC Under19 Cricket World Cup Teams & Groups

Nepal Team Profile

Last time out they achieved a dramatic one-wicket win against New Zealand to capture the Plate Final, successfully chasing 205 despite having been 75-6, in a campaign which also saw a famous win over South Africa.

This built on the back of a successful run in the 2002 competition, where they ended up as runners-up in the Plate Final to Zimbabwe, in an event which had seen them record victories over Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Nepal qualified for the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup 2008 following a successful campaign at the U/19 ACC Trophy in Malaysia, remaining unbeaten throughout the event, with Nepal skipper Paras Khadka being named man of the tournament, while Gyanendra Malla, who is one of the most accomplished batsman in the team, Akash Gupta and Sagar Khadka have all performed impressively.

Coached by Sri Lankan Roy Dias, who also led their successful campaign at the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup 2006, Nepal defeated Afghanistan by 48 runs in the Final, despite having only registered a disappointing 172 when they batted first, although this marked something of a recovery having at one stage been reduced to 60-5.

All-rounder Paras Khadka, who will be playing in his third ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup, is an experienced player. He is a regular member of the senior team and he is looking to repeat some of Nepal's exploits in previous matches at the competition.

He said: "With the performances we have given at the U/19 level, we can expect all teams to be well prepared. We have been given this tag as 'The Giant Killers' so I hope we can do better than what we have done (in the past). And we expect tough competition from all."

And he is aware of what is needed from his team if they are to replicate some of their achievements from previous competitions.

"The challenge is to improve the standard of the game through each passing game to match the standard of the best teams on the match day."

Khadka is also aware that the competition provides a window for future stars of international cricket to display their talents, having come up against some current stars of the Test and ODI game at senior level at previous events.

He said: "I played against Alistair Cook and to have seem him do well at the highest level gives me and my team an insight into the future. Plus, there have been people like Brian Lara, Chris Cairns and Michael Clarke who have come to their respective national sides through the U-19 level so this could be a benchmark for all of us to follow."

Nepal completed their preparation for the event by taking on Bangladesh in a three-match series at the end of January.