In the Asia Cup, only teams from all four Test countries of Asia played in the Super 4 round. Nepal’s name is not among them – its journey came to a halt with defeats from India and Pakistan in Group A. The record will show that in the Asia Cup on 4 September, India defeated Nepal by 10 wickets in Pallekele. The real news, not the result, is that Nepal batted first, playing more than 48 overs for India’s top bowlers and scoring 230.
For the cricket lovers of Nepal, Asif Sheikh’s half-century (58), Kushal Bhurtel’s stroke play (38 in 25 balls) in the powerplay, and Sompal Kami’s batting (48 runs- 1 four and 2 sixes) in the slog overs were a big achievement. When Asif completed his fifty, Nepali fans were dancing and Nepali songs were being heard in the stadium.
Nepal’s identity in cricket is no less than a great height like the Himalayas. Both players and spectators deserve praise for this. Despite the lack of facilities and extremely bad weather for most of the year, team spirit and passion have brought cricket to such a level that the youth there are no longer thinking of leaving the country in search of work.
Cricket today is at a stage where it needs further encouragement. There is a need for better structure in cricket. It is the job of ICC – this is an esay answer. It is the responsibility of the three big cricket countries of Asia, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka to help Nepal in this cricket journey – especially India.
The position India is in today in cricket was not always like this. There was neither such talent nor money nor such arrangements to play top cricket. Today, the Nepal team winning a match or performing well in a match becomes news – it was the same in India at that time. So now it is up to the big cricketing nations of Asia to think whether they see Nepal cricket as another Kenya or, in fact, want to see them move ahead in the journey of making their mark in cricket.
The rest of the work has to be done by Nepal Cricket and the cricketers themselves. Just as today, forgetting the history, the city of Ranchi is introduced as the city of MS Dhoni – Similarly, tour guides these days do not just call Lumbini the birthplace of Gautam Buddha – they also call it the city of cricket captain Kushal Bhurtel. He is an MBA and an inspiration for the youth.
Anyone in Nepal will narrate the story of Bhurtel scoring 115 runs in 113 balls against the challenge of 286 runs to win the match against Namibia after leaving his burnt mother in the hospital. Nepal Army and Police are giving jobs to young cricket players due to their talent. Cricket fans spend their money to watch the matches and that is why Nepal got the opportunity to play World Cup Qualifiers and qualify for the Asia Cup. Infrastructure for cricket has been created at Tribhuvan University Complex in Kathmandu and the Nepal team plays cricket matches here.
Most of the players are from the western part of Nepal, from humble backgrounds, and stay here for months for cricket – away from family. In the World Cup Super League 2, in 31 days and 12 matches, in front of a crowd of thousands at the same University Ground, Nepal saved its ODI status and also defeated the big associate members of ICC cricket, Namibia, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, and UAE. Defeated.
Nepal had got ODI status in 2018 and was on the verge of losing it. Chief coach Desai’s team saved that status by rising from the bottom of the tournament’s points table. In the World Cup qualifiers, the competition was against teams like West Indies, Zimbabwe, Ireland, and the Netherlands and it proved to be a difficult challenge. One day, teams like these will be able to compete with big neighboring Test countries in the Asia Cup. Provided that at this stage their cricketers get a chance to play better quality cricket continuously.
Help is expected from BCCI here – the opportunity to play in the Ranji Trophy/Duleep Trophy will give them a boost. For the right infrastructure, they should be given cricket practice facilities in India (like it was done for Afghanistan) and as a start, their players should be allowed to play in the T20 league being played in the state. BCCI will have to act as a guide and help in the same way as other big cricket countries provided cricket in India in the initial years.
