Nepali women’s cricket team is all set to fly Thailand on Monday to participate in the ACC Women’s Championship with a high morale and expectation of winning the trophy.
Though Nepal had finished the first edition of the championship as runner-up when the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) introduced the tournament in 2007, Nepal had to satisfy with the third and the fourth position in the second and third edition respectively.
Nepali women’s national cricket team poses for photo in Kathmandu on Sunday
“We used to train for a week or two in the past. We conducted closed camp training for almost five weeks this time. We are well prepared,” said Coach Jamil Ansari at the farewell program organized by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) in the capital on Sunday.
National Sports Council (NSC) Member Secretary Yuvaraj Lama, CAN Vice President Keshav Ghimire, General Secretary Ashok Nath Pyakuryal bade farewell to the team led by Captain Rubina Chhetri.
“There is high expectation of fans and nation with you but don’t feel pressurized,” said Lama addressing the woman cricketers at his office. “Give your best performance, give 100 percent on the field,” he suggested further.
Captain Chhetri and Coach Ansari, both, vowed not to return empty handed from Thailand. “After witnessing the confidence of these girls, I’m confident enough that we will not return home with empty hand,” said Coach Ansari.
“During the closed camp training, we not only attended practice sessions but also attended theoretical and motivational classes. We have confidence, we will obviously win this time,” said Captain Chhetri.
Coach Ansari said that following the batting debacle in the ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup, his team focused on batting in the closed-camp training.
Nepal was all out for 58 runs while chasing a 79-run target against Sri Lanka in the first match of the T20 Asia Cup held in China in October. Likewise, Bangladesh had bowled Nepal out for 45 runs and to add to Nepal’s woes, associate cricket nation China had also bundled Nepal out for a paltry total of 47.
“We have prepared the team and addressed the mistakes we committed in China,” said Ansari.
“We have a balanced team. Since we have focused more on batting this time I hope batting will not be our problem but could be a strength this time along with our usual bowling strength,” said Chhetri, speaking with media after the farewell program.
Nepal is slated on the group A of the tournament to be held in Thailand from January 23 to 31. Nepal will take on Bhutan in its first match on Thursday while lock horns with UAE on Friday in the second group stage match. Likewise, Nepal will clash with Malaysia on January 27 and against Hong Kong on January 28.
“Since we are expecting of winning title, we have to take on every opponent seriously. None of the opponents could be considered lightly,” said Ansari, when asked about the tough opponents in the tournament.
ACC Women’s Championship, a 25-over tournament, is the first step toward Women’s World T20 qualification. The winner of the championship will qualify the Women’s World T20 Qualifiers to be held in Ireland in August.