Author Archives: navin

Incheon City in South Korea is gearing up to host the 17th Asian Games from September 19 to October 4 in 2014 and the Korean Cricket Association (KCA) has launched an ambitious project of preparing Korean national women’s team for the mega event. And, Nepal has reason to feel proud in this initiative since the KCA has chosen Nepal to give basic cricket lesson to its wanna-be lady cricketers. A Korean team, including 11 players, has arrived in Kathmandu early this week and six other girls are arriving in Kathmandu on Friday. “We are hosting Asian Games in 2014 and we want to prepare ladies team by then,” said Nasir Khan, the coach and administrator of the Incheon Cricket Association,… Read More

Captain of Nepal cricket team Paras Khadka got busy signing autographs after a program at the Ministry of Health and Population on Thursday, where he was named the national champion for 1000 Golden Days and Handwashing with Soap. People seeking autographs came from different walks of life — from teenage boys to already established development workers. “You gave us reason to smile,” almost everybody had the same thing to say. Thursday´s program was just one of those that Khadka and his teammates have been a part of, after coming home from the ICC World T20 Qualifiers in the UAE, where they qualified for World T20 2014. Cricket Association of Nepal gave them a grand welcome at TribhuvanInternationalAirport and organized a… Read More

International Cricket Council (ICC) has ultimately slapped a fine of $ 84000 (approx Rs 8.3 million) on Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) for not submitting quarterly financial reports. ICC had warned Nepal of action in August after the association failed to submit financial reports for the last quarter of 2012 and the first quarter of 2013 on time. CAN had sent the financial report for the last quarter of 2012 in May whereas it should have been submitted by the end of January. Asian Cricket Council (ACC) had asked ICC to take action against Nepal. CAN had appealed to ICC and ACC not to take action but they did not respond to the plea. CAN Vice-president Keshav Ghimire confirmed the… Read More

Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has decided to send wicketkeeper-batsman Mahesh Chhetri and medium pacer Jitendra Mukhiya to Sri Lanka to join the national cricket team on its ongoing practice tour ahead of the ACC Emerging Teams Cup. “The ongoing tour is part of preparations for not only the ACC tournament but also the upcoming ICC World T20 Qualifiers and the ICC World Cup Qualifiers. In this scenario, we want the maximum number of players to get exposure,” said Ashok Nath Pyakuryal, the general secretary of CAN. Nepal has been drawn in Group B along with Afghanistan, Scotland, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Kenya, Bermuda and Denmark for the ICC World T20 Qualifiers to be held in the United Arab… Read More

Nepali U-19 cricket team will take on Kuwait on Friday in the ACC U-19 Elite Cup to be held in Malaysia from Friday to May 11. Nepal U-19, which hopes to win the tournament and qualify to the ICC U-19 World Cup, expect to build momentum from the very first match. Nepali U-19 team led by coach Jagat Tamata and captain Bhuwan Karki includes experienced players like Avinash Karn, Ram Naresh Giri, Rahul Pratap Singh and Nishchal Pandey along with captain Karki. Karki, Karn and Giri were the part of Nepali U-19 team that played the ICC U-19 World Cup held in Australia in 2012. Singh was the member of Nepali U-19 team that finished second in the ACC U-19… Read More

Nepal will start its ICC World Cricket League Division 3 campaign on Sunday night (NST) as it take on well-known rival the USA in the first match at Somerset. Nepal is considered as tournament favorite as it had defeated the USA in the league round and the final of the Division 4 last year and has good One-Day records against other teams like Oman and Italy. It would be ninth encounter between Nepal and the USA in One-Day format on Sunday. Following the latest success, Nepal has superior record against the USA. Nepal had won four matches against the USA in the past while lost two. Two encounters were washed-out. However, the inclusion of West Indian players in the USA… Read More

Skipper Paras Khadka’s brilliant innings helped Nepal to seal a 19-run victory over Malaysia in the ACC T20 Cup on Saturday and strengthen semifinal chances. As Nepal and Malaysia are to face relatively minnows of the tournament in their last group-stage matches and Nepal has a good net run rate in the tournament, Saturday’s match was considered a virtual quarterfinal. Malaysia elected to field first at the TU Cricket Ground but Nepali skipper Khadka’s valiant knocks of 87 runs off 54 balls helped Nepal to reach 163/8 in 20 overs. In reply, Malaysia reached only 144/9 though Shafiq Sharif tried to boost Malaysian hopes by scoring 53 runs off 38 balls. Nepal failed to have good start as opener Pradeep Airee was… Read More

(Courtesy: Republica and myrepublica.com) Two week after establishment, the National Cricket Academy (NCA) headed by national cricket coach Pubudu Dassanayake conducted U-12 Youth Program, a training program aimed at finding talented young cricketers, at the TU Cricket Ground in Kirtipur on Wednesday. Altogether 332 students from 16 schools of Kathmandu Valley and Kathmandu Cricket Training Center (KCTC) attended introductory sessions on the first day of the program. National team stars like Binod Das, Shakti Gauchan, Basanta Regmi, Gyanendra Malla and Sanjam Regmi as well as former stars like Raju Basnet, Dipendra Chaudhary and Paresh Lohani were there to teach cricketing lessons to the rookies. “We had been talking about conducting programs at the grassroots level in the past and I think… Read More

Cricket brought home glory in 2012 as Nepali national team lifted the World Cricket League Division 4 and ACC Trophy Elite titles. Nepali U-19 girls completed a title hat-trick in the ACC U-19 Women’s Championship. Despite failures in the ICC U-19 World Cup and ACC Women’s T20 tournament, 2012 was a year that instilled hope. Nepal emerged as the champion in the World Cricket League Division 4 held in Malaysia in September. It is the Nepali national team´s biggest success so far. Nepal defeated Singapore, Tanzania, Malaysia, the USA and Denmark in the round robin league and beat the USA by eight wickets in the final. To guide Nepal to the title, Shakti Gauchan bowled a miraculous spell of 10-8-2-3,… Read More

Nepali cricket fans are on cloud nine as their national squad claimed two prestigious titles within a month time and that too away from home. Nepal had clinched only four titles in the last 16 years, after entering the international cricketing arena in 1996 through the ACC Trophy Elite. Contrary to the past, Nepal clinched ICC World Cricket League Division 4 and ACC Trophy Elite within a month. So what is the reason for such difference in the Nepal team which has suddenly begun to believe in themselves and increasingly played with more confidence? Captain Paras Khadka thinks his side has matured a lot in the recent times. “Every member in the team knows his responsibility and the role he… Read More

A roller-coaster ride and the last over drama, nothing could separate Nepal and the UAE forcing both the teams to share the ACC Trophy Elite title. The final match at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium ended in a tie on Friday as Nepal reached 241/9 after the completion of 50 overs. Earlier, the UAE had put up 241/6. It is the first timeNepalhas finished the ACC Trophy Elite as winner.Nepalhad reached the finals in 2002 and 2010 editions of the tournament and lost to the UAE by six wickets andAfghanistanby 95 runs correspondingly. It is the second title for Nepal in a span of a month. Nepal had won ICC World Cricket League Division 4 title held in Malaysia last month.… Read More

Nepal is taking on host UAE in the final of the ACC Trophy Elite on Friday at the Sharjah Cricket Ground as it chases an illusive trophy for the third time. It is the third ACC Trophy Elite final for Nepal and second in a row. However, Nepal is yet to win the title. Nepal secured the final berth defeating Malaysia by 21 runs in the semifinal on Wednesday while the UAE thrashed Afghanistan by eight wickets. “We had a good rest today (Thursday), had a pool session to relax and held a team meeting in the evening. We are looking for a good game tomorrow (Friday),” said Nepali team coach Pubudu Dassanayake. However, Nepali team is concerned over the… Read More

Nepali national cricket team looks to break jinx against the UAE as it takes on the host nation at Sharjah Cricket Ground on Wednesday in the ACC Trophy Elite. Nepal had encountered the UAE six times in the past in the One-Day format of the game and lost all the six matches. The UAE had thrashed Nepal by 94 runs in the group stage of 1998 edition of ACC Trophy held in Kathmandu and beaten by a wicket in the 2000 edition held in the UAE. In the group stage match and the final of 2002 Singapore edition of the tournament, the UAE had defeated Nepal by six wickets on both occasion. Likewise, Nepal had lost to the UAE by… Read More

ACC Trophy Elite scheduled to kick off in the UAE from Wednesday will be a reality check for the Nepali national cricket team overwhelmed by the title win of ICC World Cricket League Division 4 last month in Malaysia. Nepali players and coach have already set a new target of qualifying to the WCL Division 2 and at least earn One-Day status. In this scenario, the ACC Trophy Elite would be an opportunity to prove their claims, as Nepal is to meet higher ranked team like the host UAE, Hong Kong in the group stage and could meet Oman and Afghanistan in the later part of the tournament. “Things are moving well for us and the ACC Trophy would be… Read More

“Coaching is challenging and I´m here to face it.” Pubudu Dassanayake, the coach of Nepali national cricket team, said this a year ago when he first arrived inKathmanduto take the charge of Nepali team inSeptember 29, 2011. He promised to takeNepalinto the ICC World T20 Qualifiers and to improveNepal’s ICC World Ranking. He has met his goals and still sees more challenges since he is raising his own bar after every success. “I’m happy with the progress we have attained in terms of conditions and resources available. However, I cannot relax until reaching the World Cup Qualifiers or the Division 2,” said Dassanayake, who is busy training national squad for the upcoming ACC Trophy Elite to be held in the… Read More

Nepali national cricket team has set a new target of earning One-Day status after clinching ICC World Cricket League Division 4 trophy held in Malaysia. Nepal put up an all-round performance and won all the six matches of Division 4 to ensure promotion to Division 3. Cricketers and coach PubuduDassanayake not only applauded each other for the brilliant performances but also revealed their new target on their arrival at the Tribhuwan International Airport on Tuesday. “Our World Cup hope is back on track now after the victory in Malaysia. We equally have chance of playing T20 World Cup,” said Captain ParasKhadka. “We have to aim for World Cup Qualifiers now. We should at least earn One-Day status reaching there,” he… Read More

Despite playing at the home, Nepali U-16 cricket team led by Switchon Shah had to satisfy only as runner-up in the first edition of the ACC U-16 Elite Cup in 2010. Singapore had defeated Nepal in the final of the first edition. New bunch of Nepali U-16 cricketers are gearing up for the second edition of the ACC U-16 Elite Cup and they have not only to step into the shoes of their seniors but also to move one-step ahead and win the title. The second edition of the ACC U-16 Elite Cup will be held in Malaysia from May 4 to 13. The current U-16 team has been going through last phase of closed camp training under the guidance… Read More

Nepal´s national cricket team captain Paras Khadka is all set to play for a Canadian cricket club. He received invitation from Ontario Cricket Club and Academy to play for it for four months. If everything goes well, he will leave Kathmandu before the second week of May. Armed Police Force (APF), the team he plays for, and Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) have already given a clearance to Khadka to play in Canada. Khadka and Shakti Gauchan came into limelight for helping Nepal finish 7th in the ICC World Twenty20 qualifiers. Skipper Khadka had scored a total of 254 runs and taken seven wickets. Gauchan took 16 wickets to finish as the third top wicket taker in the championship. Gauchan was… Read More

Mehboob Alam will renew his rivalry with Collins Obuya while Prithu Baskota, Pradeep Airee and Krishna Karki could get chance to lock horns with known opponents Rakep Patel and Duncan Allan as Nepal take on Kenya for the seventh place play-off semifinal of the ICC World T20 Qualifiers on Thursday. Nepali national team has never met Kenya’s national team before. However U-19 teams had played twice against each other and Nepal had won both matches. In 2000, Nepali team defeated Kenya by 14 runs in the U-19 World Cup to become the only associate country to reach second round of the Youth World Cup.  Alam was man-of-the-match then and had bowled Collins Obuya in the match. Alam and Obuya are… Read More

Shakti Gauchan was dropped from the national squad during the ACC T20 Cup held in Kathmandu in December. “I was bit upset to be dropped by then but I improved my form to make my comeback possible,” Gauchan had told Cricket.com.np before flying to the UAE to participate in the ICC World T20 Qualifiers. As Gauchan scripted Nepal’s victory against Denmark on Wednesday taking four wickets including a hat-trick, he proved that he really has improved his form. Gauchan gave the first breakthrough as he bowled Shehzad Ahmed in his first spell. Gauchan started his second spell in the 13th over of the innings. Paras Khadka caught Rizwan Mahmood off Gauchan in the second ball of the over. Then, Gauchan… Read More

Nepali national cricket team left Kathmandu on Saturday to participate in the ICC World T20 Qualifiers to be held in the UAE from March 13 to 24. Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) bade farewell to the national team on Saturday amidst a function in the capital. National Sports Council Member Secretary Yuvaraj Lama and CAN President Tanka Aangbuhang gave their best wishes to the team. Nepal, slated in the group ‘A’ of the tournament, will face the Netherlands, Canada, Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong, Bermuda and Denmarkin the group stage. Ireland, Kenya, Scotland, Namibia, Uganda, Oman, Italy and the USA are in the group ‘B’. We talked to Nepali team before they left Kathmandu. Excerpts: Pubudu Dassanayake, coach We are… Read More

Nepali national cricket team, preparing for the ICC World T20 Qualifiers to be held in the UAE in March, was undergoing through a closed camp training in Kathmandu but now all the players are in Mahendranagar to participate in the Sixth National Games. The Sixth National Games could have been a good practice tournament for the players had the National Sports Council and local organizers prepared better grounds. The NSC invested Rs 2.8 million to prepare a ground near Kanchanpur Covered Hall, where men´s cricket will be played. Likewise, NSC invested Rs 250,000 to develop another cricket ground at the premises of Zonal Police Office. The national team will definitely get turf pitches and smooth grounds on UAE in the… Read More

With a couple of days remaining to the first-ever election in the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), the cricketing community gets busy and divided. National Sports Council (NSC) had dissolved the CAN led by Binay Raj Pandey on October 26 and installed UCPN (Maoist) central committee member Tanka Aangbuhang as new chief with a mandate to formulate its statute and hold election within the 60 days.