Region No 1 Biratnagar won the Birendra Memorial National League cricket tournament for the fourth time in four years. Biratnagar achieved that impressive record under captaincy of Dipendra Chaudhary – one of most reliable batsmen of the country.
In the tournament, Dipendra also recovered from the slump of form that saw him axed from the national team to claim the Best Batsman award. He talked to Tapas Barsimha Thapa in length about the tournament. Excerpts:
Your team Region Number 1 Biratnagar has lifted all four Birendral Memorial Nation League titles and you have been the captain in all of them. Am I right?
Yes! Yes! We did and I was the captain in all of them. I think I will be the only captain to lift the title four times in succession. I am very happy. This may become some kind of unbreakable record.
So how long do you think your team will keep dominating the national league?
Well, I can’t answer that. We will always go into the field with an aim of winning. But the league is in one-day match format, it’s a day play. We won this one because Unil clicked in the final and played a great innings. On another day, someone from Kathmandu could have played great and beat us. We lost to them in the league by two wickets when Raju Basnet took four wickets and Sarad scored a superb 71. You never know what’s gonna happen in a one-day match. We had rated Kathmandu as the most dangerous team and they proved it. I think they will be better next year. They have a lot of young talent coming up. The problem in my region is the young players. We have not great young potentials. It’s just us older ones for now. But we’ve done well.
Why do you think your team has been so successful?
Experience and talent! But another thing that gives us an edge is planning. When we play, we play with a target. We make a game plan against each team for every match. Every player has his role cut out for him according to the opponent, game and situation. I have one role one day and another on a different day. Unil’s role is to build up an innings and save one end of the wicket. He does that perfectly. Some times our, my and Mehboob, role is to increase the run rate and we try to do that.
What about your own performance in this league?
I was dropped from the last 3-day national squad and I was adjudged the best batsman in this league. But I am happier that I am middling the ball regularly. I feel much more satisfied by the way that I am hitting the ball than I am with the best batsman tag.
What do you have to say about the format of the BMNL?
First, I think it should be played in a super league format. With the super league, we would get an opportunity to play more matches. And there should be cash prizes too like in football. There is even a cash prize in the Basketball. This is the only event Cricket Association of Nepal organizes. With prize money there will be more motivation for players. There should be cash prizes at least for best bowler, man of the series, best batsman and man of the match.
Secondly, I think it would be best if we play it in two-day format. Nepal’s batting is seen as the biggest weakness. Two-day structure would help in correcting this.
A good number of supporters were there at the TU Ground for your team in the final. Anything to say to them?
We were playing against the hosts and we had much more supporters than their. It helped us a lot. The whole team is very grateful to the supporters. Please do keep coming to our matches and supporting us. Thank You!
(As published in The Kathmandu Post. Interviewed by Tapas Barsimha Thapa