Raj Kumar leaves national team
Leg-spinner Raj Kumar Pradhan, who was in closed training Camp for ACC T-20 Cricket tournament, quit national team on Tuesday for foreign employment opportunities in Qatar.
Raj Kumar will work and play for Qatar Al Hasan Becker for the next two years.
According to Pradhan, his contract should be renewed every year. As per the contract he should play cricket every Friday and Saturday, while he should work for rest of the five days for the company. He will receive Rs 30,000 per month for his service.
“If I could perform well for the company I´ll get extra incentives”, said Pradhan.
“I was under pressure from my family and I chose the option to migrate to Qatar.” He added, “So far as I´m concerned, other players also have similar condition, therefore, I request Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) to think about players”.
He quit the camp after informing Coach Roy Dias and CAN.
Ten years ago, Raj Kumar had served in Qatar for three years. Raj Kumar said that the company was impressed by his performance during his international career.
In his early career, Raj Kumar was top order batsman and medium-pacer but after his return from Qatar he turned into leg-spinner and lower order batsman. In the meantime, he had played for Morang in the last edition of the Jai Trophy, where he was nominated as the best bowler.
As he impressed selection committee by his performance, he was picked for the national team in 2001 to play in the ICC Trophy held in Canada. However, Canada didn´t provide him the visa.
In 2002 he was picked in the national squad to play ACC Trophy in Singapore. He was one of the important players to take Nepal in the final of the tournament. Raj Kumar had taken 3 wickets in the semifinal of the tournament to beat Malaysia.
After the tournament, Raj Kumar had played 31 ODIs and took 35 wickets at an average of 18.51. Likewise, he took 36 wickets in three-day internationals at an average of 21.61. Raj Kumar had two 5-wickets haul in three-day internationals.
(As published in Republica)
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It was always on the cards once the coterie of cricketers had apprized their situation to the concerned officials recently. Besides, this clearly shows the psychological state mind of the senior Nepali cricketers as far as their future is concerned playing cricket in Nepal. This should serve as an eye-opener and wake up the KUMBKARNAS; who are ignoring this stark reality. His revelation of pressure from the family to seek employment and similar type of circumstances of some other players, and equally his plea to Cricket Association of Nepal to look into players’ cause categorically states that merely playing cricket at the senior level is meant only for fleeting and ephemeral name and fame with no fortune attached to it. In the wake of this ground reality, how could you expect our senior cricketers to win big tournaments at international levels? Interestingly, we live in a neo-materialistic age and commercialization times where everybody is hankering after quick bucks to better off his/her future. However, the demand of senior Cricketers is not riches but just an arrangement of employment so that they could work for subsistence and play for their country simultaneously; which is fair enough and the State and concerned sectors should provide this without any qualms. Some time back, a coterie of cricketers under captain Binod Das had visited Prime Minister, Sports Minister and Member-Secretary of National Sports of Council seeking their intervention in availing job opportunities by constituting departmental teams for whom they would work and play as well. Although these dignified echelon personalities had given as usual hollow verbal assurances, nothing concrete has come out of it till now. Nor do I expect in any such initiative forthcoming anytime soon. In recent times, we have been hearing of such lackadaisical and indifferent attitude in different sports as well. No incentives, minuscule allowance, no proper diet, etc. – The list goes on has become a curse on Nepali sporting sectors. In a country, where politics hogs the limelight of each and every conceivable sector and in fact plays a deciding factor in our every aspect of lives, it is no surprising to see the other sectors get raw deal and step motherly treatment. Although ingenious shirkers may say, we are going through transitory period; hence there are other things to attend to at the moment and expecting any immediate attention on this front would be too much for asking. However, everybody will accept the fact that State has never given due recognition to sporting sectors by looking into the welfare of sportspersons; who wholeheartedly put their heart and soul whilst performing for the country at the national/international competitions. There may have been exceptions, but overall efforts from the State have been found wanting, to say the least. So, it is high time, a timely initiative was taken to alleviate woes of senior cricketers or we might see some more cricketers joining on the bandwagon (though under duress and reluctantly) of foreign employment. I hope the sports lovers of our country would echo to my clarion call for the genuine cause. Having witnessed corporate sectors’ interest in a yearly 6-a side tournament recently, this sector could play a Savior role roping in senior cricketers in its respective sides providing employment and playing opportunities.
I have felt very-very bad.But I am not angry with him.It is the result of bad time of nepali cricket.I wish that it won’t be continue in future.
yes iam agree with raj kumar pradhan bcz of financical problems.
this is time of thinking of nepali cricket .there is no sure of other player future.
not sure other player will be follow the way of raj kumar pradhan in future to secure there future
i think Raj kumar did the good decision to go for job and money. this is the time for any body to secure their future, there is no future in Nepali cricketer unless CAN gets supports from governments and industries. This is not one example of leaving nations for employment, we a lot of nepali left our beloved country. I had completed bachelor degree in 2003 and work in private organisation almost 4 years but at the end i left my country because of corroptions in every sector. similarly Nepal loses thousands of Doctors, Engineers, Players, Scientists …………….each year. they will not back to country unless there is some political stability so that everbody can work freedomly.