A delegation from the International Cricket Council (ICC) has returned from Nepal following a series of meetings to progress discussions aimed at enabling the reinstatement of Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) to ICC membership.
The visit, led by ICC Deputy Chairman Imran Khwaja, was focused on the adoption of a revised constitution and subsequent elections with clear timelines in place to lay a solid foundation for the good governance of the sport in Nepal.
Over the last 12 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: “We made very good progress during this set of meetings and we’re on the path to agreeing amendments to the constitution for CAN to adopt. What was passed in August was not acceptable to the ICC or the Nepal Cricket Advisory Group which has been instrumental in creating a constitution that can take the sport in Nepal forward.
“We are in the process of putting in place some strict timelines which we expect to be adhered to which include the adoption of the constitution, addressing the outstanding reinstatement conditions and subsequent elections, all of which would be overseen by an independent panel. Then and only then can we agree the process for Nepal’s readmission at the ICC AGM in June 2018.”