Cricket event of the Sixth National Games will kick off on Monday (27th Feb), with APF playing against Mid Western Region at Covered Hall Ground of Kanchanpur. The championship has already been marred in controversy as Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) decided to play on matting wickets and ground with uneven outfield.
In the second match of the day, Far Western Region will play against Central Region.
For the tourney, 6 teams (5 development regions and APF team) have been divided in two groups. Pool A has Easter Region and Central Region, along with Far Western Region. Pool B consists of APF, Mid Western Region and Western Region.
APF is expected to be the biggest draw as it goes into the championship with the title of Indian Ambassador’s Cup, having beaten Western Region by 19 runs in the final. Captain of the national team Paras Khadka leads the APF team. In the last edition of National championship of cricket, APF was defeated in the final by Police team, led by Binod Das. This time around, Police team is not participating. Binod Das is to play in this edition of nationals from Central Region. Wicketkeeper of the national side in 50-overs matches, Mahesh Chettri has not found a place in any of the teams. He was a part of Police team and did not play qualifying matches at the regional level. Subsequently, he was not included in the Mid Western Region team.
Talking about the championship, Shakti Gauchan, who has made a comeback in the national T20 set up, said, “I am excited about the prospects of participating. It would be great to participate in the march past.”
In the women’s event, Central Region will play Far Western Region in the opening match, which will be played Zonal Police Office Ground, Kanchanpur. Central Region will play against Mid Western Region in the other match of the day.
In the women’s section, Eastern Region, Mid Western Region and APF have been kept in Pool A, while Central Region, Far Western Region and Far Western Region are in Pool B. Top two teams from each pool – both in women’s and men’s – will go to the semi-final.
APF women’s team is playing its first national championship since it was formed in 2011. Like men’s, the women’s APF team is also star studded boasting the likes of former captain, Neera Rajopadhyay, Sita Ranamagar, Binu Budhamagar and Sarita Ranamagar in its ranks. Additionally, it also has two bowlers who have taken hat tricks at international level in Rubina Chhetri (U19 captain) and Karuna Bhandari. National team captain Nary Thapa leads the Central Western Region team.
Inclusion of cricket in the National Games has drawn mixed reactions, as many have criticized inclusion of the sport without proper infrastructure. There has been some controversy in the selection of players for the regional teams as well, with some known names not getting proper role in the teams. In the last edition of National Games, 3 years ago, cricket was included as demonstration event. Then, teams from all cricket development regions, numbering 6, were included. The number of cricket development regions has since gone up to 8. However, the teams are participating as administrative development regions.
It should be noted that cricket was a part of National Games in the years 1981 (Kathmandu), 1983 (Pokhara) and 1985 (Birgunj). Then, the teams represented their zones and as many as 10 out of 14 zones played in the championship. It was taken off for the National Games in 1987 (Hetauda) and 1996 (Nepalgunj).