Nepal's cricketing journey just getting started, says skipper Paras Khadka

Sport360 staff 14:57 16/03/2018
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  • The Nepal skipper has termed the team's rise as a 'fabulous journey'.

    History was created for Nepal on Thursday at Harare when the side attained their first-ever ODI status with a convincing win over Papua New Guinea.

    Paras Khadka’s men won the 2019 ICC World Cup Qualifiers playoffs by six wickets to secure the last ODI status on offer. The subcontinent side’s rise in international cricket has been meteoric after languishing in ICC’s Division Five as recently as 10 years ago.

    The country’s governing body, Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), remains suspended by the ICC indefinitely since April 2016, making the side’s achievements all the more remarkable.

    Nepal join the UAE, Scotland and the Netherlands as the four sides with ODI status apart from the 12 full ICC members.

    Speaking to Sportstar magazine on the morning after the historic day, the Nepal skipper described his side’s rise in world cricket as ‘fabulous’.

    “The whole journey has been fabulous. In 2008, we started in the ICC Division Five; since then, we have been fighting. From Division Five to Division Four, to Division One and now the ODI status — it has been a long journey. As a team, we just wanted to reach where we are today. It involves years and years of hard work and a lot of sacrifices. I am glad that we have finally been able to reach here,” Khadka explained.

    The 30-year-old described how pure passion had helped the landlocked country overcome structural shortcomings.

    “We just have one ground back home, and a very limited domestic cricket structure. The training facility also requires facelift. Besides that, all of us have come from age ranks like U-15 and U-17; we managed to play U-19 World Cup but despite that there aren’t many things back home,” he said.

    “We still love playing cricket. Our love and passion for the game has pushed us to all levels. If we start doing well on cricket field, things will improve for me. Now that we have attained ODI status, we will put up a proper structure. That will definitely help Nepal cricket.

    “Setting up a domestic structure is the biggest challenge. How well we can we take our team forward is another area we need to look at. Getting an ODI status is okay but we have to think about a proper structure in the next four years. There has to be regular cricket all across the country and we have to involve people. There have to be good teams, good tournaments — that’s what we can look forward to.”

    Nepal’s ODI status is valid until the year 2022 and means that the board can arrange bilateral matches against the other leading sides should the two respective bodies be able to reach an agreement.

    The country’s win on Thursday drew praise from all quarters with many players congratulating the side on their tremendous achievement and expressing an interest to tour Nepal some day.

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