The West Indies were the fitting champions of the just-concluded World T20 tournament in India. The young, multi-talented members of their men's team are the epitome of the kind of cricketers who excel in the shortest format of the game. It was evident from the start of the tournament that West Indian cricketers were not much bothered about bowling, about putting the bowl consistently in the right place, picking wickets at regular intervals. Their fielding, for the most part, was also woeful. But coming into this tournament Darren Sammy and his men seem to have decided that if they won the toss, they were going to bat second and chase down any score, however big, with their strong battling line-up. In the event, Sammy won all six tosses and each time asked the opposing team to bat first. Of the six games they played, two times they successfully chased scores of over 180, most importantly against India in the semi-final when they gunned down a seemingly impossible 192. Then, in the final, when all seemed lost, Carlos Brathwaite struck four consecutive 6's in the final over to take his team to another improbable victory.Most neutrals in Nepal were cheering for the West Indies. They had a reason to. Whether they win or lose, West Indian cricketers play the game with such joy, and there is languid elegance to whatever they do on the field. This was evident in Lendl Simmons' cool and calculated batting while chasing India's 192. It was even more evident in the final when Brathwaite swung his bat, and not too hard it seemed, in the last over and every time the ball sailed over the ropes. No cricket fan will forget the West Indian battling in the semifinal and the final. Remarkably, only hours before the West Indies men's team beat England in the final on Sunday, their women had also lifted the T20 cup, this time beating Australia. For Nepalis the tournament would have been so much more exciting if, as in 2014, it also featured their national team. Back in 2014 Nepali men's team had put in a remarkable performance, winning two of its three matches and narrowly missing out on a place in the Super 10 stage.
We hope that Nepal can once again secure a place in the next edition of World T20 to be held in Australia in 2020. As the West Indies have shown, you don't need to have a perfect team to excel in this format. It was their batting that carried the West Indies, but also more than a little luck. T20 is also the format that needs the least preparation. So there is always an opportunity for ICC associate members like Nepal to do well, and even pull off an occasional shock. The mighty West Indies, lest we forget, were beaten by Afghanistan in the same tournament. But if you don't even have a proper cricket ground where you can train and play competitive cricket, it is unrealistic to keep hoping that the national team will continue to get lucky with selection. Unless we have better cricket infrastructure, it will be hard to compete in the international arena as more and more countries join the new and exciting T20 arena.
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