England Test captain Alastair Cook has been named in the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) squad which will participate in the Emirates Airlines Twenty20 Cup in Dubai.
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Nick Compton, who last represented England at Test level in May 2013, will captain MCC in a 12-man squad that also features former-England internationals Michael Carberry and Graham Onions.
Joining the MCC in the annual tournament at 7he Sevens on Friday, March 20 are Yorkshire, Lancashire and Sussex.
It will be the first appearance of the year for Cook, who was axed as England’s ODI captain as well as being overlooked for the World Cup squad just days after the team returned home following their 5-2 series defeat to Sri Lanka in December.
The left-handed batsman struggled for England where he averaged only 27.52 in his last 20 one-dayers, scoring his last century against West Indies in June 2012 at The Oval.
The tournament acts as a perfect preparation for the teams ahead of the new English county season, and this year is hugely important for Cook, who will be looking to reclaim the Ashes urn when archrivals Australia visit England for their five-match series in July.
While Kent wicketkeeper Sam Billings and Durham all-rounder Chris Rushworth are some of the English youngsters in the squad, there is space for Nepal captain Paras Khadka as well.
The MCC are keen to promote cricket in Nepal, and the 27-year-old all-rounder, who captained Nepal in the 2014 World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, is looking forward to playing in Dubai.
He said: “It’s a great privilege to be selected to play for MCC. This is a fantastic platform to showcase Nepal cricket and I’m really lookingforward to it.
“Hopefully I can make the best of this opportunity to promote the game in Nepal.”
And John Stephenson, MCC head of cricket, said: “I’m delighted to have Paras Khadka as part of our squad for the Emirates T20 competition in March. I am confident he will be an asset to our team and his inclusion in the squad should also serve as encouragement to the huge number of boys and girls in Nepal who are keen to get involved with cricket.”
This year’s competition is sponsored by Emirates Airlines with Sport360 as its media partner.
Nick Compton (Middlesex, captain)
Michael Carberry (Hampshire)
James Hildreth (Somerset)
Zafar Ansari (Surrey, Cambridge MCCU)
Daryl Mitchell (Worcestershire)
Sam Billings (Kent, Loughborough MCCU)
Matthew Dunn (Surrey)
Chris Rushworth (Durham)
Graham Onions (Durham)
Adam Riley (Kent, Loughborough MCCU)
Paras Khadka (Nepal)