2025-A productive and encouraging year for Nepal cricket

As we step into the new year,it is time to take a look back at the last twelve months and  shed light on the upside and downside of Nepal cricket.

By and large, in my assessment,it was a fairly good year for  Nepal  cricket in terms of performance, result and progress.

Both men’s and women’s national teams underwent  a hectic international schedule that kept them on their toes throughout the year.

It is not an exaggerated statement to say that  they  are showing encouraging signs of progress despite the slow  pace. More importantly, it is certainly steady and  heading in the right direction.

Despite the  current overall state of cricket in Nepal, which  is far from satisfactory in terms of domestic cricket structure, infrastructure,investment, and grassroots cricket,the progress made by them is commendable and noteworthy.

Undoubtedly,the year’s biggest  blockbuster performance came from the  senior men’s  national  team.They wrote  history by  accomplishing a groundbreaking  feat  against the Test playing West Indies. 

In the first  ever T20 series  between the two sides held in the United Arab Emirates ,Nepal wrapped up the series 2-1 in a dominant fashion to write history.

They came up with another highly impressive and memorable performance in the  2025 ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup Asia-Pacific Qualifiers in Oman.

They remained unbeaten  in both group and super six games. In the group stage they convincingly prevailed over Kuwait and Japan .

Likewise,in the super six they got the better  of United Arab Emirates(UAE), Qatar, Samoa and Oman to lift the  championship.

More importantly,they qualified for the 2026 ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup being jointly hosted by  India and Sri Lanka for the second straight time.

They,however,failed to give continuity to their winning streak in the all important ICC World Cup League 2 tri series held in Doha,UAE.

Contrary to expectations, they lost  all six matches to the United States of America and UAE.The setback has jeopardized their one day international status.

Prior to  Nepal’s appearance in tournaments in  Oman and UAE,as part of the preparation, the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) did the right thing by arranging a tournament  for the team in Australia.

For the first time Nepal participated  in the fourth  edition of the Top end T20  series featuring foreign and home teams. Pakistan and Bangladesh were the other two foreign outfits. 

Although Nepal had mixed results they benefited a lot playing against quality opponents.

Nepal kick started 2025 by competing in the Quadrangular Twenty20 international series in Hong Kong. 

Despite being strong favorites to win the series against Hong Kong,Qatar and Kuwait, Nepal faced unexpected setback as they fell short by three runs in the championship game against Kuwait,

Their next  big challenge was the Twenty20 triangular series against Scotland and Netherlands in Glasgow, Scotland.

They played well to end the series with 2 wins and two defeats. They were in the hunt for the title as all three teams were tied on points.Scotland with a superior net run-rate won the series eventually.

The  Nepali side  bounced back to conclude the Scotland tour  on a winning note. They put on  a much improved performance in the   ICC World Cup League 2 against  the same opponents and finished on top with 3 wins and 1 defeat. 

One of the biggest events  of the year hosted  by CAN was the men’s ICC Under-19 World Cup 50 over Asia qualifiers in Mulpani cricket stadium in Kathmandu .

Nepal crossed swords with Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Oman and UAE for the solitary  qualifying 2026 World Cup spot taking place in Namibia and Zimbabwe.

At the end of the day, it  was a heartbreak for the promising talented home team. 

Having recorded  three wins they were tied with Afghanistan on points and poised for success.

Unfortunately,their final  and decisive match against the Afghan side was rained out.  Consequently, the visitors were declared winners of the group based on a higher run rate.

The  appointment of Australian Stuart Law  in place of Indian Monty  Desai as the national coach of the national team was one of the  cricketing headlines  of the year.

The most talked about domestic tournament that created unprecedented excitement and frenzy in cricket enthusiasts was none other than the 2nd edition of Nepal Premier League Twenty20.

The tournament featured the country's top players and upcoming talents alongside foreign players.

After much suspense and excitement, Lumbini Lions led  by the  captain of  Nepal’s national team Rohit  Paudel turned the tide  against favorites Sudurpaschim Royals to win the title.

Paudel had a memorable  tournament. His allround performance earned him the player  of the tournament award. A handful of emerging players surfaced who drew the attention of national sele.

It was a busy year for women  cricketers as well.They participated in several tournaments internationally. 

They made history,following their qualification for the Women’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifiers for the first time.

They qualified by virtue of finishing second in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifiers held in Thailand.

This is by far the biggest accomplishment  of women’s cricket in the history of Nepal cricket.

The senior women’s outfit was in action in the four nations Twenty20 international  in Uganda.

They had a big opportunity to prove themselves but fell well short of the target by finishing at the bottom of the table.They ended the competition, winning 2 and losing 4 matches.

The Women’s Twenty20 Triangular series featuring Nepal,Thailand and  Netherlands organized by CAN in Kathmandu was a big disappointment for the host team.

Despite high hopes and expectations, they made a total mess of the chance,losing all six matches.

Nepal  under-19 women’s  team had made history the previous year by qualifying for the 2025  ICC Women’s Under-19 Twenty20 World Cup in Malaysia.

Although they lost all matches to Australia,Bangladesh and Scotland,they put in a fighting performance.

Of the sixteen teams in the competition they finished 14th.

Taking into consideration their performances it is obvious that they have 

made significant strides .Undoubtedly, their future is bright and full of promise. 

The cricket body must  ensure sustainable growth for women’s cricket through a full calendar  of competitions,adequate investment, necessary infrastructure and facilities, grassroots cricket development,regular international exposure, strong and productive domestic league.

Given the immense potential of men’s and women’s players and talent pool in the country,there is every reason to believe that they are capable of achieving much bigger successes and making an indelible mark and impact in international cricket.

That said,  the role of CAN is key and critical when it comes  to sustainable development and long - term success of cricket .

In other words, the cricket body  will have to demonstrate good governance, honesty,commitment,professionalism, competence,strong leadership, accountability  and  transparency.

It is highly  indispensable that the leadership leads with integrity,vision, unwavering commitment and responsibility.

2026 will be another busy year for both men’s and women’s cricket teams as they will continue to compete in major international tournaments across the globe. As always,they  are expected to put in every bit of their effort to make an impact  and deliver the best results.