When Khadka was asked about who according to him should be Nepal’s next cricket captain, he unhesitatingly named Gyanendra Malla.

Paras Khadka stepped down from the captaincy after the International Cricket Council confirmed the reinstatement of the Cricket Association of Nepal.

Likewise, Dipendra Singh Airee has replaced Malla as the Vice-Captain of the Nepal national cricket team and Rit Gautam has been appointed as the captain of the Nepal U-19 Team, replacing Rohit Kumar Paudel.

Paras Khadka Congratulated Gyanendra Malla

Congratulations to the most deserving person @gyanu_gm11 on being appointed as the Captain of the Nepal Cricket Team. One who has served the country with great passion,discipline and commitment.I am very sure we will prosper under his leadership to new heights. pic.twitter.com/wbjK4wKnEI

— Paras Khadka (@paras77) October 30, 2019

Congratulations to Gyanendra Malla and Rit Gautam!

Nepali Sansar wishes them luck for all their endeavors. All the best! Stay tuned for all Nepal cricket news updates!

The post Gyanendra Malla Appointed Nepal’s New Cricket Captain appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

CYC Attariya’s journey in the past two leagues has been that of ‘a climb to the top’. It started from the last position in 2017 to an eliminator position in 2018 and finally emerged as the winner this year.

The lucky team may have lost one match in the current DPL season, but stood atop the ranks table with eight points from five games, besides the qualifiers and eliminators.

However, while the turn of events went in favor of the winning team, we cannot overlook the fact that Kathmandu Goldens was the top performing team of DPL 3 until its walkover.

Why Kathmandu Goldens Boycotted DPL?

Goldens had boycotted its qualifying match on February 22, 2019, after DPL’s technical committee banned team player Ankit Dabbas. It accused the technical team of torture and pressure.

“The decision made by the technical committee regarding Ankit Dabas’ bowling action was not made in our favor; hence we are boycotting DPL from this instant. We went to meet them officially but they had already announced the decision to the press and sent it to ICC. In that situation, we had no other option available,” said Sanjay Shrestha, Kathmandu Goldens Team Manager.

“Dabas has been playing professional cricket in India. He was never accused of an illegal action. Why are our umpires and referees trying to torture and demoralize players in our country and scare us with ICC rules and regulations?” he added.

Shrestha also recalled that the committee had issues with Goldens’ bowler Rashid Khan. He also stated that ICC would not approve grounds such as Fapla to play premier league tournaments. However, Goldens had still played on that ground.

The team manager said ICC rules should be equal for all while accusing the technical team of not applying rules fairly.

Speaking about the situation, DPL Technical Committee Head and Elite ICC Panel Umpire Buddhi Bahadur Pradhan said that Goldens was told about the dubious action even in previous matches but the team’s management failed to correct it.

“We had already informed Goldens’ management in previous games about inaccuracies in Dabas’ actions but the management was not able to convey the message to the player. We have sufficient evidence of illegal action,” said Pradhan.

The two on-field umpires reported twice about Dabbas’ suspected illegal bowling in two separate games, during the current DPL season.

Then a video analysis was conducted, after which the tournament’s technical committed declared his bowling arm action illegal and took the firm decision.

While the rest is history, we were hopeful that Goldens would win the tournament next year!

The post Dhangadhi Premier League 2019: Why Kathmandu Goldens Boycotted DPL? appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The Nepal cricket team scored 111 runs while chasing a target of 108 against UAE.

This time Dipendra Singh Airee shined throughout the match with a 47-run contribution off a 41-ball delivery. 

Closely following behind was Pawan Sarraf with 18 runs off 24 balls, before Zahoor Khan bowled him out at the 19^th over.

Sandeep Lamichhane took two wickets Vs UAE 2nd T20I

Team Nepal made a great comeback after a dull defeat against UAE in their first Twenty20 on January 31, 2019.

Kudos to the Nepal cricket team players! Let’s wait and watch how the final match of the series turns out.

Dipendra Airee finishes on 47* (41 Balls) and Won the Man of the Match

• Player of The Match: Dipendra Singh Airee (Nepal)
• Series result: 3-match series level 1-1

Who will take the series decider on Sunday? #UAEvNEP

The post Nepal Vs UAE 2nd T20I: Nepal Won by 4 Wickets! appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Nepal’s Cricket History

Cricket was first introduced to Nepal in the 1920s by Lt. Gen. Madan Shumsher JBR, the youngest son of the Rana Prime Minister, Maharaja Chandra Shumsher JBR. Considered as a Gentleman’s sport during that time, the game was limited to the aristocratic Rana family and other elite members of Nepal.  Until the dawn of democracy in 1951, cricket solely belonged to the royals.

The year 1946 saw the formation of the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) which was formed as a means to promote the game of Nepal among the aristocrats.

Later in 1961, the Cricket Association of Nepal was made part of the National Sports council with the aim to promote sports in the entire country.

Nepal’s International Titles and Achievements

Nepal’s entry into the ‘big playground’ began with becoming an ‘Affiliate Member’ of the International Cricket Council’ (ICC) in 1988. This triggered a major movement in the country that saw the inception of regional and district tournaments that began in the early 1990s.

The game picked up rapidly winning the interest of the local population in turn increasing its demand.

Nepal’s ties with the ICC strengthened, when it became an ‘Associate Member’ to the latter in 1996. That’s when Nepal played for ACC Trophy in Kuala Lampur, taking cricket for this land-locked country off the home-ground. Nepal beat Brunei and Japan to finish fourth among the six teams that qualified for the first round.

By 1998, Nepal had become self-sufficient to hold a match of international level. The ACC Trophy 1998 was hosted in Lalitpur, Kirtipur and Kathmandu. However, it did not win the tournament.

In 2004, Nepal played its first, ‘first-class cricket’ by playing for the ‘ICC International Cup’ against UAE and Malaysia. It managed to beat Malaysia but got left behind after failing to win the semi-final stage where it had a draw with UAE.

The 2008 ICC World Cup World Cricket League Division Five of the World Cricket League became a memorable year for Nepal when Mehboob Alam set a World Record of taking all ten wickets of the Mozambique team. His name was added to the Guinness Book of World Records for being the first bowler to take 10 wickets in an ICC match.

The year 2010 saw Nepal win its first major tournament against USA in the final round of 2010 ICC World Cricket League Division Five in Kathmandu.

Nepal’s performance at the 2015 ICC World Cricket League Division Two in Namibia qualified them for the 2015-17 ICC World Cricket League Championship. They failed to reach the face-off for the finals after they finished third in Division of the 2015 ICC World Cricket League. Although, Basanta Regime’s performance led him to become the first bowler to take 100 wickets in the World Cricket League.

The Current Scenario

Nepal stands second after it played Division Two of the 2018 ICC World Cricket League. This had led The Rhinos to become the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier.

After defeating Papua New Guinea on March 15, 2018 in the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier, Nepal won the One Day International (ODI) status for the first time. Also, Nepal has also regained T20 International status.

Nepal now has eyes for the Test status and the Rhinos captain Paras Khadka hopes to achieve it in another eight to ten years.

The Heat-Brawl Over Administration and Good Cricket

Despite Nepal’s tremendous performance in the field of cricket, the country is staggering over the absence of the game’s governing body, the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN). Following the constant interference of politics in the administration of the game, the ICC had suspended the CAN in 2016.

While Nepal continues to perform fantastically at the international front, the country faces a crisis in terms of funding due to the absence of the CAN. This has badly hit internal matches that take place within the country and that are crucial in bringing out the best of players.

Commenting on the situation, the ex-CEO of the CAN says, “The development of cricket in Nepal is stagnant right now. Presently we have no administrative body as well as no money to run the game. Quite obviously, it has had a direct impact on our domestic cricket. Apart from a few privately-run tournaments, there hasn’t been any cricket in the country for the past two years. As a result, young talents are not coming up, which is affecting our team selection”.

In 2015, Ghimire was the first person to understand the need for an ODI status and mentioned it in her annual report. When the awaited status was finally award through her efforts, the CAN was dissolved.

However, she has not lost hope and goes on to say, ”I personally believe Nepal can achieve Test status by 2030, or even before that. We are perfectly capable. But until and unless we sort out our internal administrative issues, it doesn’t seem possible”.

In an attempt to address the administrative crisis, the newly appointed Minister for Youth and Sports in Nepal, Jagat Bahadur Bishwakarma has said that they need to start giving primary importance to finding a solution to the crisis at hand.

New Hope!

The One Day International Status has brought new hope to the Rhinos. The captain of the Nepali cricket team, Paras Khadka praised his team after their achievement of the ODI status. The six-wicket victory over Papa Guinea renewed the spirits of the players and gave them a promise of a golden tomorrow.

Dipendra Singh Airee and leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane ensured victory when both of them took 4 wickets each, leaving the opponent team staggering. Airee’s unbeaten half-century contributed to the much-coveted status.

Expressing his immense joy, Khadka says, “It’s massive it’s something we have worked towards for a very long time”.

“As a team we’ve been pushing ourselves. We’re very glad that we’re winning games through different situations, players are standing up and everyone’s contributing.”

“As a captain I’m happy to lead such an amazing bunch of boys.”

Nepal records an increase in attendance of up to 20,000 spectators. With a pipeline of achievements in the cricket scenario, there is growing enthusiasm among the local population.

On a hopeful note:
We hope that Nepal brings home many more trophies and honors and we see more and more young stars like Sandeep Lamichhane make their nations proud.

Nepal Cricket 2018 News Highlights & More Information

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• Naismith to Nepal—The Basketball Journey
• Nepal’s Taekwondo: Defense At its Best!
• Nepal Ice Hockey – Legacy in the Making
• Golf, Nepal’s Next Challenge to World Sports!
• Martial Arts- Nepal’s Foray into the Art of Self Defense

The post Nepal — A Growing Cricket Nation appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

With a comprehensive win over Papua New Guinea (PNG) in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier play-off match at the Old Hararians Sports Club in Zimbabwe, Nepal joined the elite group of world nations who are eligible to play One Day Internationals (ODI).

With this victory, Nepali cricket team edged out Hong Kong and PNG in the three-way battle for the lone ODI spot. The Nepali team will retain its ODI and T20 International status for the next four years and will feature in the World Cricket League Championship and Inter Continental Cup, among others.

Electing to field first after winning the toss, Nepal bundled out the PNG team for a paltry 114 runs in just 27.2 overs. Nepal chased down the target within 23 overs losing only four wickets in the process.

All-round Display from Airee

Dipendra Singh Airee was the star of the day with an unbeaten half-century and claiming four wickets conceding only 14 runs. Dipendra was adjudged the ‘Man of the Match’ for his splendid performance.

Sandeep Shines Once Again!

The 17-year-old spin sensation Sandeep Lamichhane took his wicket tally in the tournament to 11 with a haul of 4/29 against PNG.

Elated at the victory, Sandeep reached out to Twitter to say, “To the well-wishers of Nepal Cricket: It’s the “Result” of Years of “Hard Work”! Years of “Patience”! Hard work of many “Legends” and here we are now. A big proud day for all the people of Nepal. What a beautiful journey so far. Together its Possible. Nepal – An ODI Nation!”.

Meanwhile, Captain Paras Khadka was also overwhelmed at the new status. “Thank you everyone for the support… Just been years and years of toil, persistence, sacrifices, commitment and hard work. Finally, WE BECOME An ODI nation. Congratulations to everyone who has been part of Nepal cricket’s incredible journey!” he tweeted.

Nepal now meets Netherlands in a face-off for the seventh position at Kwekwe on March 17, 2018, while PNG and Hong Kong clash in the match to decide the bottom two positions in the tournament.

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In a recent update in this regard on February 20, 2018, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has also announced the 19-member Nepali cricket team that would be playing the Qualifiers tournament.

The team to be led by Captain Paras Khadka and Vice-Captain Gyanendra Malla has Dipendra Singh Airee, Aarif Sheikh, Rohit Kumar Poudel, Dillip Nath, Sandeep Lamichhane, Karan KC, Sharad Bheshwakar, Sompal Kami, Basanta Regmi, Shakti Gauchan, Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi, Anil Kumar Sah and Lalit Bhandari.

Besides the main team, ICC has also selected Kishor Mahato, Siddhant Lohani, Binod Bhandari and Sunil Dhamala as reserve players.

It is noteworthy here that Nepal has recently secured its entry to the Qualifier round through the astonishing victory it has garnered in the ICC World Cricket League Division-2 match with Canada on February 14, 2018.

Despite its win against Canada, Nepal moved to Group B in the Qualifier round because of its final defeat against UAE in the Division-2 final match against UAE.

Nepal will be facing Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Scotland and Hong Kong in the Group B of the Qualifier round, with first match against the Zimbabwe team on March 04, 2018, followed by the second one with Scotland team on March 8, 2018, third with Afghanistan on March 10, 2018 and fourth with the Hong Kong team on March 12, 2018.

Whereas, Group A consists of UAE, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Scotland and Hong Kong.

The winner and first runner-up of these two groups will appear in the ICC World Cup 2019 slated to be held in England and Wales in 2019.

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UAE won the toss and elected to bat first, scoring 277 runs for the loss of four wickets in the allotted 50 overs. Chasing the mammoth target of 278, Nepal managed to score only 270 losing eight wickets despite a valiant century by captain Paras Khadka.

Paras’s Efforts in Vain

In spite of the huge target at an asking rate of over 5.5 runs per over, Nepal put up a spirited chase beginning with a 38-run opening stand between Dilip Nath and Gyanendra Malla. Paras Khadka, who walked in after the fall of the first wicket, then put together useful partnerships of 73 runs with Dipendra Singh Airee and 63 runs with veteran middle order batsman Sharad Vesawkar.

After Vesawkar’s departure at the score of 174/4 in the 38^th over, Nepal required the rest of the batsmen to rally around Khadka in order to chase the target successfully. However, regular wickets at quick intervals did not help their cause.

Paras continued his stupendous effort scoring 112 runs in just 103 balls, which included three towering sixes in the last over. However, the task of scoring 28 runs in the 50^th over proved to be impossible even for the swashbuckling skipper leaving Nepal to be content with the runner-up title.

For UAE, opener Ashfaq Ahmed was the top scorer with 114 runs laced with 10 fours and 3 sixes, while skipper Rohan Mustafa scored 51 runs.

Sandeep Lamichhane, the joint highest wicket taker with 17 scalps in six matches was awarded the Man of the Tournament title.

It is noteworthy here that Nepal has earlier secured its position in the 2019 World Cup Qualifiers following an outstanding victory against Canada on February 14, 2018.

In the ICC World Cup Qualifiers scheduled to be held in Zimbabwe in March, 2018, Nepal will now play in Group B along with Afghanistan, Scotland, Hong Kong and the hosts.

The post Nepal Loses Narrowly to UAE in ICC WCL Division II Final Despite Khadka’s Heroics appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

As part of this journey, Nepali cricket team faced Namibian cricket team in the first match of the ICC World Cricket League (WCL) Division-2 on February 08, 2018.

Winning the toss, Nepali team chose to bowl first. Basant Regmi and Shakti Gauchan form the major strength of Nepal team’s bowling order.

Whereas, Captain and Skipper Paras Khadka, Vice-Captain Gyanendra Malla, Sharad Vesawkar, Dilip Nath, Gyanendra Malla, and Dipendra Singh Airee, among others form the key batting order of the Nepali cricket team.

Besides, the team also has the leg-spin bowler Sandeep Lamichhane, who rose to fame after being chosen for the Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy in the recently-held auction.

Hoping the Best

“Our batting has to click. There is no doubt about that. The top and middle-order batsmen have to take the responsibilities and perform. At this level, we have to push ourselves to do better. As a team, everyone is hungry to perform, so I am hopeful we can deliver when it matters,” says Khadka.

Former Mumbai Coach for Ranji Trophy Sulakashan Kulkarni has been roped in as the batting consultant for the team in Division-2 matches.

“Kulkarni has been very strategic and very precise. Having a new experienced voice in the dressing room always helps. He has done what he needed to and now it all comes down to how we deliver,” adds Khadka.

Most Critical

This match is most critical for Nepal as it is important for Nepal to win this match to be positioned in the place in ICWCQ, establish itself as the one-day international cricket team and also win participation opportunity in the matches with non-Test playing countries.

To overcome this challenge, Nepal has to win the Division 2 which also has Kenya, Oman, UAE and Canada as competitors.

However, the match with Namibia sounds positive for Nepal going by the country’s win over Namibian cricket team in WCL Division-2 2015 which earned Nepali team entry into WCL championship.

Nepal has been moved to Division 2 tournament owing to its failure with UAE and Hong Kong teams in the final stages of WCL, exactly three ranks after the top four who entered the Qualifiers round.

While a total of six teams are competing, the top two teams of this round-robin league will move to finals and find a place in the ICCWCQ 2018 in coming March.

Post this match, Nepal will face Oman on February 9, 2018, and later the UAE team. Following this, the team will also play with Kenya on February 12, 2018, and play the final round match with Canada on February 14, 2018.

The post ICC Cricket: Nepal’s Journey to World Cup Qualifiers 2018 Begins appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

In this 50-over ACC U-19 cricket match, Nepal batted first and set a score target of 186 runs for the Indian team with Dipendra Singh Airee alone scoring 88 runs.

Apart from Dipendra, Jitendra Singh (36) and Bhim Sarki (15) were those who scored double-digit in the Nepali team.

Then, the Indian cricket team made a good start with Himanshu Rana and Manjot Kalra who scored 60 runs in the first 10 overs.

However, the pace did not continue long because of a dashing bowling performance by Kamal Singh Airee of Nepal, who took the first wicket, of Rana’s, in the 13^th over.

This gradually boosted the confidence levels of the Nepali team and Dipendra, who had performed well in batting, displayed his bowling performance also by taking the last three wickets driving the Indian team to defeat with 11 balls remaining.

Pawan Sarraf (2) and Shahab Alam (2) were among other Nepali bowlers who performed well after Dipendra (4).

India finally lost the match to Nepal at 48.1 overs with 166 runs.

Nepali Team Elated at Dravid’s Wish

“Rahul Dravid, the Indian U-19 cricket coach, congratulated us. He said we deserved this win as much as anybody else. He also said we played better than anybody else in the tournament. We are happy he acknowledges our effort. We are thrilled to have his support with us,” said Binod Kumar Das, the Nepali U-19 cricket coach.

This is the sixth attempt that is coming as a great encouragement for the Nepali cricket team after facing a series of defeats against the Indian team in two U-19 World Cup and three U-19 Asia Cup matches.

Earlier to this match, Nepal had lost against Bangladesh and is now heading for its next fight with the Malaysian
U-19 team in its final group match on November 13, 2017.

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