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Cricket in Nepal

PostPosted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 1:28 pm
by from_the_stands
At the roof of the world lies one of the poorest countries in Asia, yet one which undoubtedly boasts some of the richest views in the world. For many years, visiting the Himalaya's in Nepal has been a bucket-list ambition of mine, and remains so. I've long dreamed of hiking in the mountains, and savouring all that the Nepalese culture has to offer. I can vouch for their food and beer (which I've enjoyed on numerous occasions). Increasingly, their cricket has become something that has intrigued me. Whilst I don't expect them to gain Test status anytime soon, I have a sneaky suspicion that we'll be hearing a little bit more from the boys from Nepal.

Cricket was introduced back in the 1920's, and for many years, was played among the elite. This remained the case until the 1950's, although the game was played mainly in Kathmandu. It wasn't until the 1980's that the game spread to other parts of the country, which now claims to have over 70 grounds and 17 turf wickets. The main ground is at Tribhuvan University, with other grounds currently being built. Currently, their domestic competition has 10 teams.
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ICC Affiliate status was granted in 1988, and was bumped up to Associate status in 1996. Since then, Nepal has taken part in the Intercontinental Cup twice, although didn't make it past the first stage. They were pretty unlucky in 2005, having beaten the UAE, but having to settle for a rain affected draw against Hong Kong. A win there would have seen them through. With the creation of the World Cricket League, Nepal started life in division 5, winning that in 2010, and only recently winning division 4. In that time, Afghanistan leapfrogged over them in their well documented rise. Earlier this year, Nepal took part in the World T20 qualifiers, finishing fifth in their group, with a record of 3 & 4.

Paras Khadka is the team captain, having lead the side since 2009, having captained Nepal at various under age levels. He was a member of the 2006 U/19 WC team which turned over Ireland and South Africa, and was made team captain at the 2008 U/19 WC, during which the official program described him as being "arguably good enough to be in the line-up of any of the Test-playing countries." He bats and bowls, and seems to have big future in the game.

Other stars in the Nepalese side include Subash Khakurel and Anil Mandal, whom both scored centuries in the recently concluded division 4 WCL, and Gyanendra Malla, who also got amongst the runs. With the ball, lefty Basanta Regmi, and leggie Shakti Gauchan look to carry the hopes of the team on their shoulders.

With a young squad, should they stick together and have the opportunity to play against better teams, Nepalese cricket should improve in leaps and bounds. Whilst they might not be Afghanistan, they might not end up being far off. With their recently won promotion to division 3, a birth in the ICC intercontinental Cup might not be far away. Once there, who knows, they might just spring a surprise on some unsuspecting teams! Good luck to them.

Re: Cricket in Nepal

PostPosted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 2:01 pm
by Alviro Patterson
Seeing Nepal in the World Cup or World Twenty20 at some stage in the future would be an achievement.

Re: Cricket in Nepal

PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 9:14 pm
by GGAS
Good read, very informative. Thanks for that.

Re: Cricket in Nepal

PostPosted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 5:37 am
by from_the_stands
Nice to see Nepal qualify for the world T20 next year. Too bad about the format of the competition though. The only Test nation they come up against is Bangladesh. Why they couldn't have 4 groups of 4 is beyond me.

Re: Cricket in Nepal

PostPosted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 5:28 am
by from_the_stands
Nepal are off to a winning start in their world T20 campaign, by easily accounting for their associate rivals Hong Kong, on what looked to be a pretty hot night in Chittagong. Nepal's batting looked promising, especially from Gyanendra Malla and skipper Paras Khadka, whom also opened the bowling, taking a wicket with his first ball! Nepal seem to have a pretty well thought out game plan last night, and stuck to it pretty well. The spinners did most of the damage during the HK run chase. What I really liked about this Nepal side, other than their obvious enthusiasm for the game, was that their players were all indigenous, and didn't feature any ring ins, like we tend to see with the other associate teams, and especially their opponents from last night. Next up for this young side is a clash with hosts Bangladesh, where a cricketing lesson no doubt awaits. Finally, a match-up with Afghanistan will round out a memorable experience for Nepal, who will savour the memories of playing in their first major ICC tournament forever.

Re: Cricket in Nepal

PostPosted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 2:33 am
by Alviro Patterson
Nepal are making a case for themselves to host neutral cricket matches - through board related tournaments to Pakistan international matches and possibly luring counties to do pre-season training there.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/nepal/conte ... 60605.html