The objective of the visit, led by ICC Deputy Chairman Imran Khwaja, is to agree on the final steps to getting Nepal’s suspension lifted and reinstated into membership of the ICC. This involves, amongst other things, the adoption of an updated Constitution which all parties agree is needed to lay a solid foundation for the good governance of the sport in Nepal.
Over the last twelve months, the ICC has worked closely with the Nepal Advisory Group (NAG) which comprises representatives of CAN, the Nepal Government and the broader cricket community, to draft a new constitution. This was one of a number of reinstatement conditions that the ICC set CAN in May 2016 that must be met before reinstatement is considered.
A revised version of this constitution was adopted by CAN in August 2017 however this contained significant changes to what had been previously agreed by the NAG and the ICC, meaning it did not fulfil the conditions set by the ICC Board.
Imran Khwaja said: “The ICC has been working towards Nepal being reinstated since its original suspension in May 2016 and this has included overseeing the selection, management, operations and finances of Nepal’s national teams to enable them to continue playing. The Board’s view was that the players should not be punished during Nepal’s suspension and therefore agreed to Nepal’s ongoing participation in ICC competitions.
“The Advisory Group has been instrumental in building a constitution that will support the readmission of Nepal to ICC membership and it is concerning that CAN did not adopt the constitution as proposed. In addition to this there remains a number of other reinstatement conditions outstanding that need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
“We hope these meetings with CAN, the Advisory Group and Government representatives will enable us to reach agreement on acceptable amendments to the constitution and agree the process for Nepal’s readmission.”