By Prem Dhakal
“Looking at the quality of the team (Nepali U-19 cricket team), their recent performance and the way they have gelled together, the boys can make it to the super eight.”
Coming, as it does, from Nepali senior national team captain Binod Das, who knows a thing or two about U-19 cricket, it is music to the ears of Nepali cricket lovers. He has marshaled his troops in two U-19 World Cups and is currently doing it at the senior level. He is, in fact, an expert in masterminding Herculean tasks having upset the applecart of quite a few cricketing heavyweights under his captaincy.
He led Nepal into super league in the U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka in 2000 when he was just 16 years old and then inspired his wards to the Plate Final in New Zealand two years later. “We luckily didn’t have to play two heavyweights South Africa and Pakistan due to rain. But we still had to beat Kenya and we played well to do that,” Das reminisces about the 2000 sojourn in the super league.
His boys could have been heroes by default in 2000 but they deserved every bit of success in 2002. “Our team was like a small fish thrown into a deep ocean in 2000 but we were well prepared and had built on our skills by the time we went to New Zealand,” he concedes adding that the one month in New Zealand is probably the best phase in Nepali cricket yet.
The Nepali team beat Pakistan – led by Salman Butt, which also included Umar Gul and Junaid Zia in their ranks – in the group stage. It then beat Bangladesh that boasted of Mohammad Ashraful and Nafis Iqbal in the semifinal of Plate Championship before bowing out to Zimbabwe captained by Tatenda Taibu, who had already played for senior team, in the final.
“We were all enjoying our game and wanted to prove that we could play in that level,” he remembers the atmosphere. “Moreover, every player contributed with each match throwing up different heroes.”
Many critics are still skeptical about the victory against Pakistan calling it a fluke but Das begs to differ. “I accept that the edged boundaries off their high quality bowlers helped us to 154 but more importantly we restricted them below that total,” he argues.
He believes that the current U-19 team is better than that of 2002. “Kanishka (Chaugai), Sharad (Vesawkar), Paras (Khadka) and Gyanendra (Malla) are regulars in the senior side and I believe they can handle the bowling at this level confidently,” he hopes.
“In the bowling department, Bantu (Bataju), Abhaya (Rana) and Amrit (Bhattaria) may lack the experience of Shakti (Gauchan), Manjeet (Shrestha), Lakpa (Lama) and myself but they have potential to do well.”
Das also believes that experience is a bigger factor for batsmen than the bowlers. “The bowlers don’t have the fear of physical harm as the batsmen can only hit the balls. But the batsmen have that fear as they can be hit by fast bowlers. The batsmen (of the current U-19 squad) have played against quality bowling and must be confident,” he reasons.
He is not perturbed by the amount of extras conceded by the bowlers in the practice matches against Namibia and Scotland. “The bowlers don’t have enough practice with the white Kookaburra balls which swing more. And the humid conditions in Sri Lanka also assist swing, so they may not have been able to control the swing. But it should be OK when they play against England,” he says.
England has had some trouble against Nepal in the previous three editions and is dead serious about Nepal this time but Das has no problems with that. “They may consider our team to be strong but the truth of the matter is that England has far richer cricketing culture and facilities. So, they will have nothing to gain and everything to lose against Nepal,” he says.
So, what will be the key to Nepal’s success?
“The seniors like Kaniska, Sharad and Paras should perform well consistently and the rest should provide support. There may be the pressure of expectations but I believe the players are experienced enough to break the match ball-wise and should focus on the next ball. Sri Lanka being Roy sir’s home country will also certainly be a big help.”