The arrival lounge at the Tribhuvan International Airport reverberated with chants of “We will hit sixes and fours, we will play the World Cup” as the national cricket team landed in Kathmandu on Sunday evening.
The cricket team that qualified for the World T20, the World Cup of short-format cricket, and finished third in the ICC World T20 Qualifiers held in the UAE, received a heroes´ welcome and huge applauds from the hundreds of supporters upon its arrival at 6:05 pm.
The fans had reached the airport with national flags in their hands and waited patiently for more than three hours at the airport premises braving the chill to welcome the team home. They held placards and banners with words of praise for the national team. Some of the fans followed the bus carrying the team all the way from the airport to their hotel in Naxal. A musical band of the Nepal Army played in their honor.
“We could never forget such love and appreciation of the fans. It is the love of fans that has motivated us to keep going,” said skipper Paras Khadka. “We got the same type of support in Dubai and made us feel that we were playing at home.”
“We had been waiting for such a moment and finally succeeded. No non-Test playing nation has the cricket craze that we have in Nepal. Nepal could be the best neutral venue,” Khadka said.
Coach Pubudu Dassanayake, who guided the team to its first T20 World Cup, said, “It is a great feeling to see the supporters. They have been supporting and appreciating our effort,” the Sri Lanka-born Canadian said. “They are our strength and we are looking forward to satisfy them climbing one ladder after another.”
“We have reached a level and gained international recognition, which is very important. This is just the beginning of good momentum. Our next target is to gain ODI status,” said Dassanayake, adding, “It was a tough tournament. Though there were a couple of hiccups, everything fell in place at the right time.”
“We had one aim for the last one-and-half years and had worked really hard for it. There are many unsung heroes in the team. Though every team was competitive, we stuck to our plans and did what we wanted,” skipper Khadka shared.
Despite the enthusiastic participation of fans, management at the airport was poor. Media persons who had waited there for hours could not talk to the team at the airport due to mismanagement by Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), the cricket governing body.
Sharad Vesawkar, who played a crucial role in the team´s victories in three matches, said the long-cherished dream of the team has finally been fulfilled. “Since I was a child, everyone used to ask me when we would the play World Cup. Now I have the reply,” Vesawkar said.
Vesawkar rescued Nepal during matches against Kenya, Hong Kong and the UAE, sealing victory in the last over with a confident display of batting on each occasion. “Every team member played consistently with equal contribution,” Vesawkar said. Regarding his match-winning innings, he said, “We had no other option, and all I had in mind was the ball.”
(As Prajwal Oli reported on Republica Daily)