Eventful year for Nepali cricket

The year 2024 was eventful,exciting, productive and promising for Nepal cricket, by and large.

 

The participation of  both the  men’s and women’s national  teams in international tournaments significantly  enhanced  the global visibility and profile of Nepal cricket.

Cricket’s  popularity in the country soared to new heights, with an unprecedented increase in the number of youngsters both boys and girls taking up the sport.

The last twelve months were hectic for cricketers, as they played competitive cricket almost nonstop  around the world.

A lot  remains to be done 

The truth of the matter is, there still remains a lot to be done when it comes to changing the face of Nepal cricket in a meaningful manner.The most pressing priority is  to develop infrastructure and playing facilities and reform the entire structure of the sport from the grassroots level. 

No one  disputes the fact that infrastructural shortcomings,inadequate funding,administrative failures,leadership controversies, and organizational challenges have been impeding the development of cricket for decades.

The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) ,tasked with developing  the sport, has long been plagued by weak leadership, poor governance, incompetence and internal factionalism.

The talk of Nepal’s potential to become an international cricketing  hub has been ongoing for years. It will require an able, committed  and a highly professional cricket body, adequate  funding , effective management and marketing strategies, and state-of-the-art  international stadium  with multi-purpose facilities. 

Disappointing  year for Men’s team  

The senior national team was under the spotlight for the most part.They were in action throughout the year but couldn't deliver results,falling well short of expectations. 

Going by the overall performances and results,they accomplished barely anything and suffered a string of losses to end the year on a very disappointing note.

They got off to a winning start against Canada in the fifty over one day international series  in Kathmandu, whitewashing the visitors 3-0.

The home team,however, stumbled in the crucial ICC World Cup League 2  in the triangular series against Namibia and the Netherlands.Out of four games, they won one and lost three .

The men’s ICC World Cup Twenty20  held in the United States and the West Indies was the biggest tournament the men’s team participated in 2024.

The sport’s biggest  platform provided players valuable and world-wide  exposure.

It was  truly  heartening  and encouraging to see players seize the big opportunity to showcase their cricketing skills,capturing the imagination  and  earning accolades  from cricket aficionados across the globe.

Nepal’s match against heavyweight Test -playing  opponent South Africa was   the centerpiece of attention and  highlight of their  World Cup campaign.

They were within a whisker of registering an epic victory and the biggest upset of the tournament,but they fell short by a solitary run at the end.

The national team jetted off to Canada to  play the ICC World Cup League 2 triangular series against Canada and Oman with high hopes.

Going into the series, they were second to last  in the  table standings.It was a must- win series for  them  to improve their position.

Contrary to expectations,they struggled mightily and failed  to find their stride.They  ended the series winless,losing three out  of four matches,and the remaining one was washed out.

Despite an  improved performance,Nepal faced further  disappointment, squandering the chance to lift the  Twenty20  triangular series title  against hosts Canada. 

The Rhinos showed signs of a comeback,routing the United States 3-0 in the Twenty20 series.However, they were unable  to carry the momentum forward when it mattered most in the ICC World Cup League 2 tri -series featuring Nepal, Scotland  and the United States held in the United States.

There  was more agony and frustration for  Head Coach  Monty Desai  boys  as they under performed and stumbled badly,sliding further below.

They lost twice to the United States and finally ended their losing streak by  prevailing over Scotland. The second match against the same opponent was called off due to rain.

Defending champions Nepal suffered an unexpected setback in the ACC Men’s Premier Cup held in Oman. 

They put in an impressive performance in the group stage winning all four matches. But their joy was short lived, following defeats to the United Arabs Emirates and Hong Kong in the semi-final and 3rd place play-off respectively.

The reversal was a disaster for them, costing them a place in the 2025 Asia Cup and 2024 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup.

A recurring saga of collective batting failures  significantly contributed to the team’s downfall.Additionally,the fielding and bowling performance were below their usual standard.

 

Since  the emergence of ultra - commercialized T20 and other shorter formats of cricket, the new generation of players are  increasingly  getting drawn to these extravagant leagues.

A majority of them  train exclusively for  the   slam-bang  version  of the  game ,emphasizing power-hitting  and quick runs  over the  traditional  techniques, which  is fundamental to batting. This seems to be impacting their overall  consistency and  batting performance in the 50-over format.

Nepal competes in Honk Kong Sixes

Nepal  competed in the 2024 Hong Kong  Sixes in Hong Kong.In the group stage they surprised both Australia and England to reach the last eight before losing out to Sri Lanka.

Men’s Under-19 full of promises 

The men’s Under-19 packed with talent and promise qualified for the 2024 Under-19 Cricket World Cup in South Africa. 

The win over Afghanistan  earned them a spot in the  Super 6, but  they concluded the tournament losing all four matches.

Nepal colts travelled to the United Arab Emirates to compete in the ACC-19 Asia Cup.Their only victory against Afghanistan  was not enough to take them to the knockout stage.

 

The  year  ended on a positive note for them as they  blanked the   visiting Hong Kong outfit  3-0 in the  one day 50 -over one day  series.

 

Women cricket on the rise

It is fair to say that 2024 marked the  significant reemergence of Nepali  women’s cricket,with  noteworthy performances  and results. Despite  continuing to live under the shadow of men’s cricket, their  talent and hard work  yielded rich dividends.

 

The senior team made  a good start to the  year by qualifying for the 2024 Women’s Twenty20 Asia Cup in Sri Lanka. 

They qualified by virtue of finishing third in the ACC Women’s Premier Cup held  in Malaysia .

They  won all three matches in  the preliminary round,but  they failed to clinch a place in the final,losing to  Malaysia in the semifinal.

They wrapped up the tournament in Sri Lanka with a victory over the United Arab Emirates and two defeats against India and Pakistan.

Women’s Under-19 makes history 

The Women’s Under-19 team  skippered by Puja Mahato hogged the headlines for their historic accomplishments.

They qualified for the 2025 Under-19 Women’s  T20 World Cup for the first time.

Besides,they made it to the 2024 ACC Under-19 Women’s T20  Asia Cup in Malaysia.They  made history by beating Pakistan and advancing to the Super Four in the group stage.Their match against India was incomplete because of rain. 

In the knockout round they lost to Bangladesh, and their fixtures against India and Sri Lanka  got rained out.They concluded  the  competition with third place finish. 

In  Puja Mahato,Sana  Praveen,Sony Pakhrin,Rachana Kumari Chaudhary, Riya Sharma and many more, we have a very talented bunch who are players of the future.

Definitely women’s cricket is on the rise. That being said,however,given the state of the affairs, cricketers still face an uphill battle. They lack proper attention, adequate funding,resources and opportunities.Additionally,infrastructure at the grassroots is lacking.

At long last, CAN took a  positive step by awarding nineteen women cricketers a central contract for the upcoming  season making them eligible for monthly allowance of Rs 40,000, Rs 35,000 and  Rs 25,000 depending on which category they fall under.

NPL  creates unprecedented  craze

The  most talked about globally  televised men’s Nepal Premier League(NPL) Twenty20 cricket tournament held in Kathmandu and  organized by CAN was the biggest sporting spectacle of the year.

The tournament  featured the cream of the country’s talent and a handful of well known international cricketers. Amongst overseas players former  India’s opener Shikhar Dhawan was the biggest name to play in the tournament. 

Legendary West Indies cricketer Brian Lara  was in  Nepal  to attend  NPL  matches on invitation  of the cricket  association. His presence bolstered the profile of the tournament further.

Janakpur Bolts got the better of Sudurpaschim Royals to lift the inaugural edition.The competition was a rousing success with every game  drawing a massive crowd.

Home players in the likes of Dipendra   Singh Airee, Lalit Rajbhansi, Rohit Paudel  were pick of the players.

Airee’s allround brilliance earned him the player of the tournament. Sixteen year old upcoming  spinner Bipin Sharma who played for Karnali Yaks was the cynosure of all eyes.

His talent was in full display. He made the most of the opportunity and scalped 13 wickets,fetching him  the tournament’s emerging  player award of the Season 

Without a shred of doubt,a tournament of this stature does enhance the profile of Nepal cricket on the global stage,further boosts the  game’s popularity within the country and provides local players a perfect platform to showcase their cricketing abilities. 

Nepali players in overseas tournaments 

Nepali players are beginning to make their presence in overseas  franchise-based professional T20 leagues. Sandeep Lamichhane and Dipendra Singh Airee represented the Vancouver Knights ,while skipper of the national team Rohit Paudel played for the  Toronto  Nationals in  the Canadian  Global  T20 League. 

All -rounder Kushal Malla  inked a contract with Desert Vipers recently  and will play in the International League T20 in the United Arab Emirates.

Newsmaker of the year

Ace spinner Sandeep Lamichhane was constantly in the news for different  reasons. He breathed a sigh of relief after   he was accquitted of all rape charges. 

He made headlines when the US Embassy denied him a visa to  travel to the United States for the T20 World Cup. 

Harsh reality

However, from a developmental standpoint ,the harsh reality is that Nepal cricket  needs  more than just  a   tournament to  turn things around in terms of meaningful change and progress.

As cricket continues to evolve, so  must grassroots cricket which is the heartbeat of the game.

Given the  continuing failure  of CAN to perform its responsibilities and duties, the timeless adage,” Action speaks louder than words” holds immense significance.

 

When all is said and done,the future of Nepal cricket will be largely determined by both the functioning of CAN and government support.