Shakti Gauchan, the coach of the Nepali U-19 cricket team, has said that he is confident that he can win against Afghanistan after being deprived of qualifying for the World Cup.

Nepal was excluded from playing in the World Cup for the ninth time when rain prevented the decisive match against Afghanistan in the U-19 World Cup Asia Qualifier at home. Along with this, Gouchan, the coach of the Nepali team, said that although the confidence of the players to win against Afghanistan was strong, the rain was a hindrance.

Coach Gouchan said that although he dreamed of playing in the World Cup during three months of preparation for the qualifiers, it was not possible due to the rain. After the match was not possible, coach Gauchan responded in a press conference that he was very sad that luck did not support him and that he was ready to accept this situation.

However, regardless of the result of Saturday's match, he also said that the team is confident that they can beat the series with Afghanistan after seeing the comeback. He mentioned that the confidence of the players has increased based on their performance in two of the three matches of the series.

Most of the players of the U-19 team of this batch are new, but they are capable and they are improving themselves every day, coach Gauchan said. He expressed his belief that the players of this generation will play for the national team even if they fail to qualify for the World Cup.

He said that the players cried a lot after not qualifying for the World Cup and he was also upset. However, he mentioned that he reminded the players that he experienced greater sorrows and joys in his career. He also reminded us that 'if we move forward from this suffering and improve, we can get better results.'

Rain hindered, Afghanistan stayed ahead

The five-nation U-19 World Cup Asia Qualifier had a provision for the winner of the league to qualify for the World Cup. Despite having the same seven points in the league, Afghanistan qualified for the World Cup in Namibia and Zimbabwe in 2026, trailing Nepal in net run rate.

Both Nepal and Afghanistan were undefeated before Saturday's match at Moolpani Cricket Ground (below). As Afghanistan is ahead in net run rate, it was necessary for Nepal to have a match.

It rained for some time in the morning and the ground was wet. After nearly five hours of waiting, the match officials called off the match when it did not seem possible. Afghanistan's net run rate was 4.8170 and Nepal's 3.5764. Nepal failed to qualify for the World Cup again after 2022.

Naren Bhatt, the captain of the Nepali U-19 team, said that he was very sad to fail to be selected without even playing the game. He said that the team is good and the performance is in line with that, so there is confidence to win against Afghanistan. But saying that it was not possible due to the rain, he said, 'The rain was not under our control . We have reminded ourselves .'