Winners of the 50-over edition held under the Nepal Premier League, Panchakanya Tez will once again start the tournament as favourites despite not having two of their veterans from the previous squad. Tez will be without Binod Das, now retired and taking the role of Tournament Director, and Rajkumar Pradhan, the leg spinner who had taken 6-42 handing his side a 97-run victory over Jagdamba Giants--now Rhinos--in the final in 2014 after he decided to leave for Japan. Tez were looked after by Raju Basnyat but they have found a new coach in Kalam Ali who believed that his side has moved on from the last event. “Yes we will be without Rajkumar and Binod but we have moved on. The current squad is pretty satisfying,” said Ali. Sharad Vesawkar had led Tez to the 50-over title and the in-form batsman will once again be at the centre of his team considering the fine form he has been in for a long time. Vesawkar had been one of the leading run scorers for Nepal in the international games and his side would like him to continue the fine form. Tez will also expect their opener Sanjay Shrestha to resume from where he left in the previous edition. Shrestha was the top scorer of the final in previous edition with his 84 leading the team to a challenging total in a difficult pitch in Dhangadhi. Tez squad is also bolstered by the presence of U-19 all rounders Aarif Sheikh and Dipendra Singh Airee, influential figures in Nepal’s ICC U-19 World Cup campaign earlier this year in Bangladesh.