Paresh Lohani was playing his second international tournament when Nepali national cricket team was participating in the ICC Trophy held in Canada on 2001. Lohani was dreaming of knocking qualification door for the ICC World Cup then but Nepali team failed against Namibia in the very first match.
Lohani is still in the national squad that is participating in the ICC World T20 Qualifiers, which begin on Monday in the UAE. The qualifiers could open the door toNepalfor the ICC World T20 Cup to be held inSri Lanka.
Lohani, who made comeback in the national team recently, is upbeat again to pursue the World Cup dream.
“I’m excited and energized now, as I was in 2001,” said Lohani. “The Qualifiers is a lifetime opportunity for every players of the squad,” he added.
Nepal is the lowest rank team in the tournament participated by 10 teams.
However, the national team is all set to challenge opponents and prove its caliber. “I don’t believe in ranking. We’ll challenge our opponents. We’ll first try to reach semifinals and pursue World Cup dream there after,” said Paras Khadka, captain of the team.
In its qualification campaign,Nepalwill get Hong Kong as a first hurdle in the group stage. Nepal will lock horns against Hong Kong on Tuesday at the ICC Global Cricket Academy, UAE.
Nepal had earlier faced Hong Kong during the ACC Twenty 20 Championship held in Kathmandu on December last year. Nepal had registered a two-wicket victory in the match.
Nepal had qualified for the tournament gaining the top-three positions apart from Afghanistan during the ACC Twenty 20 Championship held in Kathmandu. Hong Kong was the finalist of the tournament.
This will be the third meeting of Hong Kong and Nepal in T20 format.Nepal had won one match while Hong Kong had won one. In the 50-over matches, Nepal has registered three wins and faced three defeats withHong Kong.
Nepal and Hong Kong are placed in group A along with Denmark, Papua New Guinea, Afghanistan, Bermuda, the Netherlands and Canada.
Two teams will qualify from the tournament.
Nepal Vs Hong Kong
T20
Asian Games 2010 – lost by 30 runs
ACC Twenty20 Championship – won by 2 wickets
50 overs match
ACC Trophy 1996 – lost by 5 wickets
ACC Trophy 1998 – lost by 6 wickets
ACC Trophy 2000 – lost by 179 runs
ACC Trophy 2006 – won by 87 runs
ACC Trophy Elite 2008 – won by 44 runs
ACC Trophy Elite 2010 – won by 118 runs