The chilling weather and late arrival time were not a concern for hundreds of fans outside the Tribhuwan International Airport as they waited hours to give Team Nepal heroes’ welcome.
The team returned after a successful World Cricket League Division 2 campaign from Namibia.
Nepal finished as runners-up in the tournament but in doing so booked their spot for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Qualifiers to be held in Zimbabwe from March first week.
Hundreds of fans were present to welcome the team and were kept waiting for more than an hour due to operational delay. The arrival of the team was welcome with rapturous cries of names of the members of the team. The crowd also chanted slogans to vent our the frustration on lack of infrastructure which has been the stumbling block for Nepalese cricket for long time now.
Upon the arrival, skipper Paras Khadka said that the team played some good cricket in Namibia.
“The qualification to world cup was outcome of our group effort. All the players contributed the best from their side and we made it together. In some matches, we were below par but we crossed the finish line,’ Khadka said.
The hero of the tournament, Karan KC, who shared unbeaten 51 run stand for the final wicket with Sandeep Lamichhane was ecstatic.
“I knew I could hit the ball in my range. So I asked Sandeep to stick with me and see what happens. When I pulled it off, I was in a dreamland,” said the pace bowler who is known for his big shots.
IPL bound Lamichhane was happy to prove his quality and promised to do even better in days to come.
Nepal will take on Zimbabwe on March 4 in the world cup qualifiers. Before that, team will face UAE and Hong Kong in warm up matches.