KATHMANDU, DEC 18 - Rising medium pace bowler Karan KC broke into the national team for one of the most important tournaments for Nepal as the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) on Wednesday named the final squad for the ICC World Cricket League (WCL) Division 2 to be held in Namibia.

KC and talented allrounder Rajesh Pulami Magar were expected to be new faces in the national fold after the duo put on a fine performance in the three-day matches against Kurunegala XI and Combine XI during Nepal’s recent 18-day tour of Sri Lanka. The squad, however, missed Magar but KC was the biggest inclusion in the national team whose 50-over future will be decided through the January 17-24 event.

Unpredictable veteran allrounder Mehboob Alam was also kept out along with Ramnaresh Giri and Rahul Kumar BK. Another talented allrounder Aarif Sheikh has retained his place apart from Bhuwan Karki and Amrit Bhattarai.

The squad also sees a return of middle order batsman Sharad Vesawkar who missed national team’s Sri Lanka tour due to a surgery of piles (haemorrhoids).

Paras Khadka will lead the side in Namibia with Gyanendra Malla named his deputy. Other members in the 14-member squad include Subash Khakurel, Naresh Budhayer, Shakti Gauchan, Sompal Kami, Binod Bhandari, Sagar Pun and Basanta Regmi.

National team coach Pubudu Dassanayake said KC’s fine performance in the three-day matches was a reason for his inclusion. “Karan bowled with a very positive mindset in his debut game. He is in a very good shape and I am happy with the way he has evolved as a fast bowler,” said Dassanayake.

KC although picked up eight wickets in four innings --10 less than Kami--he was praised for his positive approach and a decent performance. The return of Vesawkar, whose Division 2 participation was in doubt over his timely recovery, in the team has cost Magar dearly. Magar was expected to fill the void that could have been left by the absence of Vesawkar.

Dassanayake said Vesawkar has recovered from his surgery and with the amount of time left in the run-up to Division 2, he can hit back to his old form. “I talked to his (Vesawkar) surgeon and he told me that Sharad is ready to hit the ground. We still have 30 days left. We can get the best out of him before tournament kicks off,” said Dassanayake.

“We want to win Division 2 and for that we need experienced players. Sharad is the one who can hit the ball a long way and anchor the innings at the same time. We need his experience and there are no other options other than to pick him up.”

The Division 2 tournament includes Namibia, the Netherlands, Canada, Kenya and Uganda with top two finishers qualifying for the 2015-17 ICC World Cricket League Championship and ICC Intercontinental Cup.