Nepali cricket team, which often faced fitness problems during previous tournaments, is in fine fettle with the Pepsi World Cricket League Division 4 just round the corner.
Earlier, players had to undertake month-long closed-camp training and they were unable to remain fit, but the long spell of training this time around has kept them at top form.
However, monsoon has been disrupting their regular practice for the Division 4 tournament scheduled for August 14 in Italy.
“We are well prepared in terms of fitness, but the rain has been disrupting our practice sessions. However, we still have three weeks and we expect better,” said Roy Luke Dias, the Sri Lankan Coach for Nepal.
Nepali players are busy in the game since last November as they are playing tournaments regularly.
Nepal played the ACC T20 Cup in UAE in November and won the Pepsi World Cricket League Division 5 on home ground in February.
Likewise, they participated in the domestic T20 and One-Day tournaments along with practice matches, which probably has helped a lot in maintaining their fitness.
According to Dias, Nepali players´ victory in the Division 5 tournament at home has boosted their morale. “After the victory, players´ attitude has changed. They now understand their role in the team better,” said Dias.
“Take for instance Mehboob Alam. He knows he has to play a big role for the team. Players are working hard and I can feel this is the best team,” said Dias. Dias said Nepali team is flying to Italy to claim the title while a final berth will be their minimal target.
The winners and the runners-up of the tournament will be promoted to Division 3, which will be held in Hong Kong in January 2011.
The ultimate goal for the six sides is to reach the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in 2013 and compete for a place in the 2015 World Cup to be held in Australia and New Zealand. The bottom two sides will be relegated to Division 5 ready for the next cycle, which will begin after the 2015 World Cup.
The Division 4 tournament scheduled to be held in the Italian province of Bologna will see six teams from five continents to make the tournament a special one. Asian representatives Nepal will take on hosts Italy (Europe), the US and the Cayman Islands (North America), Argentina (South America) and Tanzania (Africa).
All opponents, except for the US and Italy, are new to Nepal. Nepal defeated the US in the final of Division 5 held in Nepal on February 20-29 having lost to the same side in the league round of the tournament. Nepal and the US have qualified for Division 4 as the Division 5 winners and runners-up.
Nepal and the US have had four previous meetings, where Nepal have won 2, lost one while a match was washed out. On the other side, Nepal had pulled off an 88-run victory against Italy in their one and only encounter in 2005.
Though Nepal are aiming for the title, astro-turf (artificial) pitch in Bologna could be their Achilles´ heel. Dias, thus, cited astro-turf as a reason for including six seamers in the team excluding two batsmen.
“Toss does not play a role in astro-turf. It produces uneven bounce and ball sometimes bounces chest-high,” said Dias. “Batsmen should be aware of the bounce and as grounds in Italy are small, bowler should be conscious,” added Dias.
However, captain Paras Khadka opined that they should not bother much about the astro-turf as they are heading to play Division 4 in Italy.
“The US and Singapore had complained about our wickets during Division 5. We will also complain about the wicket but that is not our aim for the tournament,” said Khadka.
“We are going to Italy to secure a final berth and then to fight for the title. We should not only hope to win but should be determined for it,” added Khadka.
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@ knight, supen: u guys are giving big talks of T2Os between cities like ktm, biratnagar, bringing int’l players, banners and clothings. But, i would like u guys to look at our infrastructures first. TU ground is the only ground in nepal from where the matches can be televised. If all the matches are played there, the T20 U r talking about won’t b any better than present T20 league.
And about foreign players, i m sure you won’t find players better than our own. Players who may agree to play for Nepal will be a sort of street cricketer there. No sachin or afridi will come to play for u. Our players have talent , what they need is exposure.
@Arun,
True, that we may not have enough ground. but we can play all the games in TU ground. 20-20 is not a long format. It last mostly for 15-20 days . It should be more like KFC big bash in australia rather than IPL. The present 20-20 league is useless because there have been hardly any marketing. nor it is televised. marketing is everything. look at IPL. There have been previous 20-20 league around the world. But why IPl has been so successful.
Australian Kfc big bash was first introduced this year. it became instant sucess with 2 foreign player in each side . Franchise based sports work in every country. USA is full of franchise based sports. Every country has one.
It is important to make our cricketers a household name. If you go to india , everybody knows who sachin or rahul dravid is. many peopel in nepal don’t know about Shakti gauchan or binod das.
We have to make best use of whatever facility we have. We have TU. Thats’ great. Many country even don’t h ave that one. We have a lot of media. I am sure if right proposal comes, they will be ready to broadcast it. May be in future they might even be fighting for broadcasting right.
And we are not talkign about bringing afridi or tendulkar. I am talkign about bringing on players from the country who have no chance for playing for their countries. ICC has made a very easy rule. Unless they have played international matches for their country you can litreally poach those players. It happens every where. Even in football. Some come for money, some come for oppertunity to play at top level.
At the moment we are only looking for our government for moeny in cricket. Our players refused to play game recently without money. How this money gonna come? ICC wont’ flood money to nepal, neither will nepalese government. Someone has to take an intitiavie by bringing big magnet, enterprenuers, companies, media together and organize first few 20-20 leagues which will be self sustaining in future.
knight
how many comments u have made,a newspaper of thoughts u have shared but mate u lost all the plot saying that WE NEED PLAYERS FROM ABROAD to reach ahead. Thats absolutely pathetic thought from a mind of a looser. Shame on u man. U r insulting a whole lot of Nepalese let alone players,u r not trusting the skills of our players.If u cant encourage them please dont discourage them. U r making us ashamed infront of our neighbours who visit this site. We ,a Nepalese team are proud and play with our head high knowing that we are truely representing our country, probably one of few teams only with home grown players and very good ones. One thing man,wherever u go and whatever u do, how poor our country might be always be proud and support.
JAY NAYA NEPAL
@ knight and @Uzwal: We all love each other..we all want here one thing: the betterment of Nepali cricket and they emerging as a world force in cricket….now the thing is….i cant tell you when it can happen..but it WILL one day happen…..atleast,, the wcl 5 is just a starting point…..Nepal hs got every bright chance to make it big…..and i completely underrstand knight…i know how he feels..following for a decade, and not getting the outcomes he visioned….very similar to Bangladeshi fan’s frustrations….but change is the law of nature…if you fllow cricket history, every major country took time to develop world class players… and that was becase of the craze they had for the game, but othr countries like USA, Canada where the first cricket match is reported to have been played according o history books. look at them….where there is a will, there is a way…the will comes from intent, and that intent comes from that burning desire or reason to prove something, and the intent itself willead to changes……i m sure Nepali people love this game and means of expressing their superiorty, and that is why…one day they will excel…..but on other hand, countries like Kenya, semifinalists OF2003 wc, where they are now? what about the likes of Argentina who used to beat us during the 80′s icc trophies..but then we had the passion…..then we got hammered by the expats of UAE, then came Kenyns, Candaians, but now where arethey…the passion was never there to self sustain the sport in these countries…this VERY REASON is what will make u guys SUCCEDD…………with time, if passion becums stronger, and with law of nature of change tat will result from this passion, nepal will dominate one day amongst al these other countries relying on expats….and if u observe knight, its the asians who play for others. not the other way round..that is because of the talent the asians are bestowed with….Nepal WILL WIN….i jut hope my nepali cricketers can prove u wrong in this wcl 4…..and i am sure u will be the happiest person to be proven wrong…..wont u?
….and yea Uzwal, knight has got the same love for Nepal as u do….he was just expresing his viewpoints…..i understand his pan…..i have passed thru those stages…….hopefully…after the wcl 4 gets over, wer all together wud be singing songs and celebrating victory rather than these small arguments…that said,m yes, CAN needs to take steps….get sum kind of league starting…..spread awareness thru the media…..get in the financial incetives……and the rest will take care of itself…!
Thnk u all my nepali brothers….a big hug to all…thnx for th warm welcum…feel amongst u………very over whelmed…..love Nepal!! come on, lets rock it baybey
@ knight: Nobody who is visiting this site is not supporting ur idea knight.. Do u think only what u say is right? So u better accept ur idea is wrong before i call u an arrogant.. We believe in our players talent n passion.. N one good day glory will be in our feet..
my dear nepali brothers…..please dont misunderstand knight…he loves Nepal…we all overhere in this site do..he’s just trying to find ways and solutions for his beloved Nepal cricket team……we must stand united..let us warm up before the 1st match against US…..BRING IT ON!!!
If he luvs Nepal dat way, i m sure he must not b da pure son of Nepal….If he had passion 4 cricket as we do dan he wouldn’t hav said so….Ur name gonna change not our players….We r happy wid our players n trust me dey r non da less dan any1 n gonna win da WCL 4…..
GoodLuck
shakib
It is great that our neighbouring countries support our cricket as well..shakib.khusal we need more support from u guys…i completely understand what shakib wants to say regarding knights thought..but i believe there is always a good way and bad way to reach somewhere and acheive, but u dont choose a bad one or a wrong one to do that, do u?? for example we have families we need to help them financially but it doesnt meean that instead of working hard u go and steal from others and get the money for the family. .. knights idea is not acceptable to most of the very proud Nepalese.We dont want to acheive like that.we can wait but we do it on our strength otherwise whats the difference between UAE and Nepal,Hongkong and Nepal…we just want to be known as a good cricket playing nation, achieved everything on their own ..thts it nothing more or less. Anyway pls spread the information about our cricket to ur friends so that we get more lovely neighbours to support us.
JAY NAYA NEPAL
@ knight: Nobody who is visiting this site is not supporting ur idea knight.. Do u think only what u say is right? So u better accept ur idea is wrong before i call u an arrogant.. We believe in our players talent n passion.. N one good day glory will be in our feet..
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Don’t be chauvinist. Leave in your own dream land. World does not run the way you think. England never complains about pieterson or morgan. Why we should? Do you think an Englishman don’t love England as much as we do to Nepal? Do you think Germany ever complains that brazilian player Cacau is currently playing for them. Or does Australia complain when English born Symonds play for them. Nor will West indies complain when one australian is playing for them. France steal footballers from Africa .
We need to find the missing link . Getting 3-4 players can fill that. Show me one associate nation apart from Nepal which plays with complete home grown players? I remember CAN made this decision to play home grown players 14-15 years earlier. At that time we defeated kenya. kenya then was a good team having beaten few test teams in the ODIs. In 2000 we defeated Pakistan and Bangladesh in U-19 world cup. In 2002 we beat south Africa. In next U-19 we beat south africa and New zealand. Since then it has all been downhill.
The CAN policy is simply not working. Once we used to beat test team now we even fail to qualify for the U-19 world cup. I don’t agree with subodh , that nobody agrees with me or not. Show me the results? And results show that their rule is hampering ourselves.
I was actually embarrassed the way we qualified for this WCL-4 due to crowd trouble. when that west India born , American player was scoring sixes all over the park, we somehow sneaked through the back door.
I appreciate whatever our cricketers have done. I am in favor of haming 8-3 rule. With minimum of 8 home grown playing for Nepal at least in every march And we can fill our missing link with others. And of course once we qualify , and do well regularly we always close the doors for overseas born players. Remote is in our hands.
Hey! Knight just look at India, Srilanka, Bangladesh, pakistan, Newzeland, SA….Why u always just think neg…B + man …
@ Uzwal,
mate, we are not stealing from anybody. People migrate around the world for better oppertunity. many nepalese go to UK, USA for better job and work as their citizen. It is the way of life. If europe , USA gets a qualified personnel from nepal they don’t complain and neither does the person who actually migrate complains. It is a win win situation. It is not stealing. Countries always look for skilled people from outside if they can’t get one.
knight, ok fine u gave eg of US team which is full of foreign players. Yes, we did lost the first match but the same team was beaten by us the very next day. Their foreign players could do nothing against our brave nepalese players. And, u can’t get better players from abroad than that of US coz CAN can’t give better salary or opportunities than US. If our players can beat a team full of players acquired from abroad by world’s richest and most attractive country, why can’t u trust our players?
Mr KNIGHT U R AS AROGANT AS PANERU N PANDEY!
Wil u stop givng d examples of futbal player n few criketrs who playd 4 money!
We r always proud dat NEPAL plays wid original players. Even BHUTAN N MALDIVES HAV hom grown players!
If NEPAL get expats n win worldcup non of d criketfans wil b hapy!
In holand,many people dont know wat d criket is wen they r playng in worldcup regularly.
We r winer of Div 5 by wing final,dont blam d inciden or wicket as MARVAN ATAPATU did!
Afganis r emerging as they hv majority pakistini player,many player hv vanished in canada n europe bt HV U HEARD SUCH OF NEPALI CRIKETR!
Has shakti n binod born 10 km north 2 their birth plac they wud hv bcom great international player!
WE NEPALE HATE EXPATS PLAYE WE DONT WAN ANY FOREIGN INVASION IN CRIKET!
Bidesi haikambad murdabad!
@knight: it is not obvious that we should do the same what other associate nations do. Shakib has explained earlier bangladesh trusted its own talent an now they are a test nation. Others associates buys players and they are nowhere near bangladesh today. I would have supported you if you had admitted that involvement of foreign test nations players in National league. But you can argue with affordability, and the fact is we cant afford them in national team as well. And we don’t want some foreign galli cricketers to take place of our passonate hardworking national heros, who give their everything and play for national pride, nothing else. Do you think this Nepalese spirit will remain the same after foreign players involvement? N what will happen to a player’s heart while he works so hard from kid to earn a proud national cap n a foreign takes his place? It is easy to say like u do but the words can’t discribe that painful senario of breaking an honest Nepalese heart. Let others buy glory, we Neplease want to achive it. Night your view is rejected by almost all here. Although I appriciate your desire of Nepalese sucess, ur idea of buying it is not acceptable.
knight
I completely understand what u saying. But u r missing one point i.e we can do all by own.Our team got the ability to do so. It is just a maater of a time. U gave an example of Uk and USA letting skilled people stay or whatever but mate we have a team of skilled players .Even the youngsters doing preety well. I know u also want Nepalese team to do well but ur idea is not acceptable to most of us.
@Knight,
“Show me one associate nation apart from Nepal which plays with complete home grown players?”
There is indeed no Associate nation, which plays complete home grown players, but there is an Affiliate nation, which plays complete home born players, and that is AFGHANISTAN, as it is still an Affiliate. All current Afghan players are born in Afghanistan and they are real Afghans.
@I HATE TANKA PANERU & BINAY RAJ PANDEY!
“Afganis r emerging as they hv majority pakistini players.”
That really hurt me and might have hurt others as well. How can you say something like that without proof?
There’s no Pakistani in our national team, and we’ll never let them play for us, because we believe in ourselves, we believe that our own Afghans would achieve us our dreamed goals, we don’t believe that foreign born players would play for us wholeheartedly, they play only for money. Cricket is the #1 sport in Afghanistan and it’s played at schools, colleges, on streets, everywhere. According to statistics, every 6 out of 10 young boys are interested in cricket and it’s constantly getting increased.
But, one thing we’re facing as a problem is the lack of facilities and proper infrastructures, and it’s all because of the ongoing political turmoil in our country, I hope it gets well soon.
Cricket teams from Afghanistan and Hong Kong
are to appear in a club-level event in Pakistan, in a
tentative step towards reviving the sport in the
violence-hit country.
The Afghan team will include nine players from
the squad which competed in the third edition of
the World Twenty20 held in the West Indies.
The 16-team Twenty20 tournament will be held
from August 12 to September 6, with a total of 10
million rupees (117,000 dollars) prize money on
offer.
Now what about Nepal? Why don’t they take part in these kind of leagues? Hong Kong is participating but Nepal isn’t. It really upsets me that deserving nations like Nepal doesn’t get a chance to get their rights and participate in major leagues. A real Hong Kong origin would know nothing about cricket, whereas almost all Nepalis know a lot about cricket. Hong Kong’s cricket team is playing in prominent leagues and is higher in WCL division than deserving nations like Nepal, why?
I reckon it’s all because of the Nepali cricket board. They don’t try to play their team regularly in major outdoor domestic leagues.
The good cricket you play the better result you will get.
Why do I support Nepal? Why don’t I support Hong Kong? It’s because that Nepali people have the passion and love for the great game but, Hong Kong’s people don’t.
Thankx kushal once again.. N I am sorry of that blunder comment from my NEPALI fren.. Perhaps he isn’t clear abt afghan cricket.. Hail NEPAL, hail South-Asia, hail ASIA, hail the world n may this sport increases brotherhood between us..
subodh has just stated the FACTTTS!!! yup….Nepal shd invite foreign players to play in their leagues……..before we got test status, we had the likes of wasim akram, jayasuriya, jadeja, etc, competing in our domestic leagues hence the quality of our crcketers improved…..they faced tough players, had to play hard cricket, ant the quality improved…….i think that explains one of the MAJOR REASON
{continuing from previous post} …the major reason why Nepal couldnt fulfill the goals they have set previously…..the afghans learnt their trade in Pak….Hamid Hasan and few others went to England….and got their cricket education there, so when these bunch came backk…..those vital experiences rubbed off amongst other teammates…but in Nepal, the prob is players are not getting enough exposure of top quality cricket….hopefully, somehow…i am praying…….CAN adresses these issues, and the infrastructure and the domestic setup improves…….dont worry, it will happen…….we had only one test ground before test status, now we have 5 test grounds over the country, along with several other international grounds……..these things rapidly speeded up after we got the necessary cash influx from the ICC after winning the icc trophy in 1997…..so i am reaally praying that my Nepali brothers on the cricket field excel in all their matches, and get into top six for the odi status…..things will then just exponentially improve, trust me…..that is why this wcl is so important, and i have faith in Nepal that they can do it this time….u guys are joining the elites soon
……go NEPAALL…..cheers!!!
I love to read all these healthy discussion……thanks to all guys, specially Shakib, Kushal, Subodh and Knight……their view and comment are really strong…..