KATHMANDU, April 2: A national level U-16 school cricket tournament sanctioned by the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MoYS) is set to start from Tuesday at TU cricket ground in Kirtipur.
The preliminary squad of 25 players to feature in the closed camp will be selected after the performances in the tournament, which is organized by Madan Bhandari Sports Academy in association with National Sports Council.
The information was given at an event held in Kathmandu on Monday.
Women’s selection tournament begins today
A final squad of 14 to participate in ACC U-16 Eastern Region Cricket Tournament from April 18 to 29 in Thailand will be selected from the closed camp following the national tournament, according to the head coach of senior national cricket team Jagat Tamata.
"ACC had asked to directly call a closed camp and select the squad. But we had proposed the sports ministry for a selection tournament given the many potential cricket players in the country," said Tamata.
A budget of Rs 5.5 million has been allocated for the event. However, MoYS could only grant Rs 3 million. The remaining budget will be covered by organizers Madan Bhandari sports academy, informed Binod Shrestha, the president of the academy.
"We have always believed in professionalizing sports. Our academy believes in co-coordinating rather than unnecessary rivalry with sports bodies," said Shrestha in the program.
Seven provinces are divided in two groups of three and four teams. Each team will face each other in a single round-robin group stage. Province 3, 4, 5 and 6 has been seeded in group A whereas province 7, 1 and 2 will compete in group B. The top two teams of each group will reach semifinals.
The tournament will be played in 30-over per side match. The winner of the tournament will earn cricket equipment equivalent to Rs 150,000 whereas the first runner-up will have to do with Rs 75,000.
The semifinals will be played on April 7 and the final will be played on the following day.
