As Nepal were outplaying one of the contenders for the T20 World Cup in South Africa, an incredible appearance in the Super Eights stage seemed a possibility. Two days later, the Nepalese side came out roaring again, reducing Bangladesh to 88/9 and raising hopes of a first-ever win against a Full-Member nation.
Unfortunately, neither were meant to be as batting lapses proved costly. However, what the campaign showed is Nepal are here to stay and deserve more opportunities against higher-ranked teams.
In fact, if you go back to the 2023 ODI Asia Cup, they reduced Pakistan to 124/4 in the 28th over in a disciplined bowling display. Karan KC then missed a chance off his own bowling against Babar Azam which proved costly as the Pakistan captain notched up 151. In their next game, Nepal hit a respectable 230 against India.
The ingredients are there for Nepal to succeed in international cricket. It can be argued they are where Afghanistan were about a decade ago. Have a look at the Afghans now.
PM Cup’s first day sees batting and bowling brilliance
Nepal’s bowling attack has a fantastic mix of pace and spin, and some of the skill on show would be at the envy even of Full-Member nations.
Need pace? Sompal Kami has it and can swing the ball. They have an array of medium pacers to go with their excellent spin attack filled with trickery and guile. A quartet of Dipendra Singh Airee, Rohit Paudel, Sandeep Lamichhane and Kushal Bhurtel is sure to inspire young cricketers to give the ball a tweak.
Also, Nepal has one of the most passionate fanbases in world cricket. The scenes in Kathmandu in the early morning are a thing of beauty, as is the one fan who traveled more than 16,000 kilometers to witness his nation play at a World Cup. Cricket is a way of life in the country and brings people together.
But, more work needs to be done to ensure these ingredients don’t go to waste. The management and coaches are the chefs who need to take the ingredients to make an irresistible dish. Instability hurt Nepali cricket after their first appearance in a T20 World Cup in 2014, with a suspension handed down in 2016 due to a breach of “ICC regulations which prohibit government interference and require free and fair elections.”
Worse, a rollout of the Nepal T20 league in 2022-23 saw spot-fixing, player clashes with organizers and teams not paying players on time. Such an environment will see nothing but negativity flourish.
Fast forward to 2024, and there seems to be better stability with coach Monty Desai at the helm. For Nepal to push the much more experienced South Africa and Bangladesh counts for plenty. However, the batting fell short. It was clear the players weren’t used to facing bowlers of that caliber. It is the type of situation where fair and reasoned criticism with solution-based thinking is the right approach from Nepali fans and media.
In the 2024 Men’s T20 Premier Cup, Nepal didn’t get enough output from their top order. All-rounder Dipendra Singh Airee was the only Nepali batter in the top 10 run-scorers for the tournament, down in ninth with 150. It was a similar story in the T20 World Cup where they found themselves in glorious positions to beat South Africa and Bangladesh, but couldn’t rotate strike effectively enough to reduce pressure.
The South Africa game in particular really should have resulted in victory.
More matches against Full-Member nations will naturally see an improvement in skills. However, a better domestic structure is crucial, putting Nepal in a better position to compete. Batting is the priority, followed by developing more fast bowlers. The last thing you want to see from here is Nepali cricket standing still and not progressing over the next five or ten years.
The board, coaches, and players must be on the same page. Forget any personal interests, it’s Nepal cricket that is most important. The passion for the game is only growing, with the majority of the fanbase made up of young people who dream of wearing the Nepal national jersey.
It is the job of those in charge to ensure those players are well-equipped to take Nepal to the next level in international cricket.
