The International Cricket Council (ICC) has in recent weeks been in discussions with various stakeholders regarding the staging of the ICC World Cricket League (WCL) Championship round-three matches between Nepal and Namibia. These matches are scheduled to take place on April 16 and 18.
Whilst acknowledging that Nepal cricket does not currently have a functioning governing body and that a case is currently before the Supreme Court in this regard, the intention of these discussions was to find a solution that would allow Nepal to compete in these matches, and potentially host them.
With the agreement of the CAN Adhoc Committee and the CAN Elected Committee, and the support of the National Sports Council, the following will now take place:
An independent selection panel, including the national team coach and captain will select the Nepal team to compete against Namibia, with Asia Development Officer Venkatapathy Raju acting as an advisor.
Asia Development Manager Bandula Warnapura will undertake an inspection of the Tribhuvan University Ground to assess its suitability to host the matches, while a local security plan will be developed for the assessment and approval of ICC.
If these assessments are passed the matches will take place in Kathmandu, with ICC conducting the match preparations and operations on an independent basis. The National Sports Council has nominated Bhawana Ghimire to work with ICC as a local liaison in this regard.
If these assessments are not passed, the matches will be relocated to an alternate venue outside of Nepal.
“The governance challenges currently being faced by Nepal cricket are unfortunate to say the least,” said ICC Head of Global Development, Tim Anderson.
“However, in the best interests of the game, the players and the fans, we are heartened by the cooperation of all parties in agreeing a set of solutions that allows these important matches to be played, and consideration given to them being played in Nepal,” Mr Anderson added.