New Delhi, Feb 3 (PTI) Indian cricketer Priyank Panchal spent a month in Kathmandu last year, and came back with one memory that has stayed with him.
It wasn’t the thrill of playing in front of a packed stadium but the easy warmth of a cricket-mad nation. Nestled in the Himalayas, the country breathes the game but with a smile instead of the all-consuming passion that defines cricket fandoms in the sub-continent.
“Every player I met, every official I encountered and all the fans I came across greeted me with a lot of warmth and a big smile. No one raises their voice. The passion for cricket and the love for their stars is so genuine,” Panchal, the former India A captain told PTI about his stint in the second edition of the Nepal Premier League with the Karnali Yaks franchise.
A nation of over 3 crore will place its hopes on 15 cricketers when Nepal walk into the Wankhede Stadium on February 8 for their lung-opener against England after a second successive T20 World Cup qualification.
They would be carrying the weight of Himalayan dreams, hoping to be bolstered by the support of an adoring fan base that has turned every match into a festival.
For a team that once struggled for basic infrastructure, the upcoming T20 World Cup is being viewed as a defining leap rather than just another appearance.
Nepalese fans are expected to throng Chennai for the warm-up games and for the tournament-proper in Mumbai when Rohit Paudel and his men take the field.
“I have heard that ticket sales for Nepal’s matches at the Wankhede Stadium have been very brisk. Had we played in Delhi, there would have been a sizeable crowd at Kotla too.
“Our fans, the biggest number of travelling ones after India and Pakistan, are our strength,” said Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) president Chatur Bahadur Chand, who is also a senior politician representing the Nepali Congress party.
The Nepal team looks gutsy with skipper Paudel one of their batting mainstays.
Then there is veteran Karan KC, Sompal Kami and the biggest of them all — Sandeep Lamichhane — the only player from the region to have featured in the IPL, Big Bash League and the Caribbean Premier League.
“Sandeep is obviously our biggest player but Rohit has also led the side very well in the past few years. We have had some good wins. We missed out on the Asia Cup after losing to Oman in the qualifiers but this time we are well-prepared. We had a good pre-tournament camp in Sri Lanka,” Chand said.
Even Panchal agrees that Nepal have the ability to create an upset in the group stages.
“Sompal Kami and Nandan Yadav are very good new-ball bowlers. Their ground fielding is excellent. The commitment is 200 per cent, which is very important,” said Panchal, who believes that playing alongside Faf du Plessis, Jimmy Neesham and Martin Guptill helped the locals immensely during NPL.
Currently, Nepal has only one ground — the Tribhuvan University Stadium in Kirtipur — where floodlights were installed before the NPL, and the government is now spending money to refurbish the venue.
“My dream is to have at least five stadiums by 2030 and at least one more by next year. We already have central contracts in place, with top cricketers being paid a monthly salary of Nepali Rupee one lakh (INR 62,000) apart from match fees,” said Chand.
Top players in the NPL are paid around Nepali Rupee 20 lakh, but what has drawn attention is how well CAN organised the two editions.
Unlike many private leagues across the globe that are flush with Indian investors, the eight team owners in CAN are all sons of the soil who have pooled in money to form consortiums.
However, Chand is indebted to ICC chairman and former BCCI secretary Jay Shah for the assistance so far.
“Our players have had a lot of camps in Delhi and at the NCA in Bengaluru. The Indian embassy in Nepal has also helped us a lot.
“Jay bhai has been a constant support and he wants Nepal to be the next Test nation. After the T20 World Cup, we will also focus on our first-class structure. The current aim is to qualify for the Super Eights,” said the CAN supremo, who is contesting parliamentary elections on March 5.
Nepal have a good chance of beating both Italy and Scotland, and if they can upset either England or the West Indies, they would make it to the next round.
Chand will be present during the first game against England on February 8 but will return for campaigning.
Nepal Squad: ========= Kushal Bhurtel, Sundeep Jora, Rohit Paudel (Captain), Dipendra Singh Airee, Aarif Sheikh, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Nandan Yadav, Aasif Sheikh, Lokesh Bam, Sandeep Lamichhane, Basir Ahamad, Gulsan Jha, Lalit Rajbanshi, Sher Malla.
Nepal Fixtures: ========== Feb 8: vs England in Mumbai Feb 12: vs Italy in Mumbai Feb 15: vs West Indies in Mumbai Feb 17: vs Scotland. PTI KHS PM KHS PM PM
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