Cricket in Nepal‚ Not just a game

• Laxman Karki

KATHMANDU: TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 2021 – Cricket is a game to be. But, not only that. It is not just a game of cricket. There is something more. There is more. This has been repeatedly confirmed in Nepal.

Take, for example, triangular T20 cricket. Know that cricket is a hope. There is excitement, happy and also there is trust. It means a lot. Cricket comes at a time when most areas are frustrating by carrying hope, carrying enthusiasm, carrying happiness.

Baisakh 11 is a special day for Nepal. This is the day as the day of democracy the day when Nepal has changed politically. However, the citizens are getting frustrated due to the lack of realization of democracy in the ideal behavior. At such a time, cricket brought happiness from Kirtipur, an important part of political change.

Kirtipur is also a fortress of consciousness and rebellion. Kirtipur, which has been showing its proud presence for years by embracing the university which is considered as the standard of intellect, has been associated with cricket for the last few years. And Kirtipur continues to bring such happy news.

On the day of Democracy Day, cricket made the citizens, who were carrying many complaints about democracy, happy. Even those who do not understand cricket understand that Nepal has won. I saw the players jumping on the field with a sense of victory. From house to house, children or grandchildren, Wow, what a game Nepal has played.

Even before this, cricket has made Nepalis happy from time to time. Cricket is giving happiness to Nepalis whether it is in division label games or by traveling to the World Cup, and whether the national team gets ODI recognition.

Success this time around is not limited to winning a single contest. This has given the impression of falling on the cricket field once again from the far horizon of possibility. How so?

The rhythm caught by the team
Nepal has achieved great things in cricket in a short time. But for some time, Nepali cricket seemed to be confused, lost or unable to do anything despite its potential. The performance of the national cricket team seemed to be disappointing due to the problem of selection of coaches, politics within the cricket federation, lack of investment and domestic competition. Nepal had won the title at home for many years.

It is believed that the river will return, that is, after 11 years, Nepal has finally won the title on home soil.

But, coincidentally or time has given a hint that Nepal has caught the rhythm now. There are grounds for saying this. Such as-

The skills of the skilled
The performance of the Nepali cricket team has made everyone happy. The performance of the young players has added to the joy. This time the Nepali team has come up with some surprising results.

Batsman Kushal Bhurtel was at the center of the team’s success and performance. The same skilled Bhurtel, who also set a record in world cricket. In his debut tournament, he scored four fifties in five games, including three in a row. In the first game, he scored 62 runs against the Netherlands. After that, he remained unbeaten on 61 runs against Malaysia. Kushal, who scored 62 runs in the next match against the Netherlands, scored 77 runs against the Netherlands in the final. Meaning, 278 runs from 5 games.

The performance of another skilled cricketer remained equally enticing. He scored the second fastest 50 runs for Nepal while scoring a half century off 24 balls.

Nepal, who struggled to score 200 runs in 50 overs, has scored more than 200 runs in 20 overs. This shows that Nepali batting has improved.

With the average performance of captain Gyanendra, Dipendra Singh Airy, Kushal Malla and finisher Karan KC’s excellent batting helped Nepal to score 200 runs.

Ashif scored 154 runs in the tournament. Dipendra scored 147 runs in four games. Aggressive batsman Kushal Malla scored 87 runs in 3 games including a half century.

Similarly, Sandeep Lamichhane became the highest wicket-taker while Karan KC’s all-rounder image remained intact. He scored 45 off 13 balls with 4 sixes in one over. Captain Gyanendra Malla’s performance was not disappointing. Debut bowler Kamal Singh Airy proved why he deserves to be in the national team in the two games he got to play. In comparison, the performance of Sompal Kami and Binod Bhandari is not satisfactory.

Along with Gyanendra, Binod Bhandari, Sompal Kami and Karan KC are the old players in the Nepali team. The rest of the players are almost the same.

The intervention of these young players is the strongest thing for the new hope of the team. What Nepal captain Gyanendra Malla said after winning the title is meaningful. “Batting, bowling and fielding all went well,” he said. There are many young players in the team. This has given a good message to Nepali cricket in the days to come. If they are groomed well, Nepali cricket can reach even higher. ‘

Even older players are no longer able to play well, adding that there are good players in the backup.

Hope for the opening
Nepal has also got a new opening pair from this competition. The pair of Kushal Bhurtel and Ashif Sheikh have shown their ability to lead Nepal to a big score. The bad opening in the past seems to be forgotten with the arrival of Kushal and Ashif. Ashif scored 154 runs in the tournament and completed a half century. He scored a half-century against the Netherlands.

Batting is not the only accusation against Nepali cricket. Even in that, the opening batting has given stress. It is not that the coaches have not done many experiments, but when the experiments have not been very successful, they have emerged with a ray of hope and confidence as a skilled and aspiring opener batsman. Well, Ashif has not been able to freeze in this competition like in domestic cricket.

Whatmore has raised hopes
After Pubudu Dassanayake, a Canadian coach of Sri Lankan origin, the path of training in Nepali cricket is a bit confused. Tuning with two short-term coaches brought in between the special match team. Well, the contribution of coach Jagat Tamata cannot be underestimated.

However, the success of Australian coach David Whatmore, who has been on the list of world-renowned coaches in terms of success, has raised hopes that something will happen now.

With his arrival, Nepal has seen a miraculous improvement in batting. It is not difficult to understand that this change took place in the short time he was in charge of the team and that his chemistry was positive in the team. Former Nepal national team coach Raju Basnet, who is also a batsman, agrees with this. ‘Dav has been particularly successful in strengthening the players psychologically. Its effect was seen in the game itself. ‘

Yes, the coach has to take some risk in deciding the strategy from the team selection. And, if he succeeds, the coach will succeed. In this regard, the positive impact of Whatmore’s strategy has started to fall on the Nepali team. Raju says, “Dav has succeeded in bringing positive vibes in the players.” After hearing that Dav is ready to lead the Nepali team, not only the players but also cricket officials and well-wishers have started dreaming of another flight of Nepali cricket with his past success.

“There were a lot of hurdles in our batting,” says Raju.

Whatmore, the head coach who got a taste of success in the first competition, is also rioting. And then he says – I’m stunned, the team is stunned by me playing better than I thought.

The atmosphere of cricket
Thousands of spectators reached Kirtipur, taking advantage of the low wall around the Tribhuvan Stadium, even though the Nepal Cricket Association (NCA) barred spectators from entering the ground. The spectators would have arrived hours before thinking that others could have occupied the place where the game was being watched easily. As the 12th player to cheer on the team on the field, they shot Covid’s threat and reached the field.

In the final, more than 3,000 spectators watched the game from outside the walls of the TU ground. Some climbed trees and some stood on walls. The presence of such notable spectators was also in the games of Nepal and Malaysia. Captain Gyanendra expressed his gratitude for the support shown in the game and urged the supporters to take care of their health.

The players of the Netherlands are surprised to see Nepali cricket supporters. Pieter Seelaar, the captain of the Dutch team, said: Such craze is needed in international cricket. I was happy to feel the craze of Nepali cricket. ‘

Together, these and many other things have given the Nepali cricket team new hope.

The Nepali team, which seems to have coordinated everything, will now have to face the challenge of maintaining the ODI status as well as the journey to the World Cup. And then comes the goal of ‘test recognition’.