Thursday, Mar 13, 2014
Dubai: Nepal is determined to make a huge impact in their maiden appearance at the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Twenty20 Cup. It is a team that has a huge fan following and whenever they have played in UAE, thousands of Nepalese fans have turned up to cheer for them.
It is the high expectations and support from their fans that is driving them to give their best in the World Twenty20 Cup.
“We have an amazing fan following back home. The number of cricket fans we have matches any Test playing country,” said Nepal team skipper Paras Khadka.
Nepal played two practice matches against the UAE and the Netherlands during its week-long stay in Dubai before leaving for Bangladesh on March 9.
The team will play two warm up matches in Bangladesh against Ireland on March 14 and the UAE on March 15 before kicking off its World Cup campaign against Hong Kong on March 16.
So enthusiastic is the government of Nepal that Purushottam Paudel, the minister for Youth and Sports department, along with officials from the National Sports Council and Cricket Association of Nepal turned up to see off the team for the World Cup.
Nepal’s coach Pubudu Dassanayake, who is a former wicketkeeper batsman, represented Sri Lanka in 11 Test matches and 16 One-dayers.
“We are underdogs so we will not be under pressure. Twenty20 can be anybody’s game and so we are not afraid of taking on any team,” said Dassanayake, who has made the team work hard to sharpen their skills.
Khadka believes that getting to play in a World Cup is the reward for the hard work everyone has put in for the last ten years. “We have been playing continuous cricket for 10 to 12 years with hard work. We will present Nepal cricket to the whole world. We will compete and play to the best of our ability. If we play to our potential things should be good for us,” said Khadka, who is an all-rounder who bats in the middle order and bowls medium pace.
Most of Nepal’s players have come through junior cricket representing the Under-19 matches. In fact, eight players in the squad are below the age of 21. The youth factor makes it also one of the most agile teams in the World Cup and is sure to reflect in their fielding. The oldest player in the team is 29-year-old Shakti Gauchan.
Nepal has some very fine spinners in Gauchan and another left arm spinner in Basant Regmi and Rahul Vishwakarma. Incidentally, Regmi destroyed UAE in the World Twenty20 qualifier’s third place play off match in Abu Dhabi with a spell of 4 for 16 to give his team a five wicket win.
They also have three off spinners in Sagar Pun, Sompal Rami and Sharad Vesawkar and will be backed by right-arm and left-arm pacers.
“For most people it came as a huge surprise that Nepal will be playing at this high level but everybody follows cricket in our country. Almost all kids are playing cricket and the game is growing big time in Nepal. Playing in the World Twenty20 will be a breakthrough for the country itself,” said Khadka.
By K.R. Nayar Chief Cricket Writer
Gulf News 2014. All rights reserved.
