Nepal national cricket team

Nepal national cricket team
The Nepal men's national cricket team represents the country of Nepal in International cricket and is governed by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN). They are Associate Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1996. Nepal were awarded Twenty20 International (T20I) status by the ICC in June 2014 until the 2015 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier and One Day International (ODI) status from 2018. They are nicknamed as ''The Gorkhali'' as an symbol for countries brave soldiers who are also called Gorkhalis and "Rhinos" as the emblem of Cricket Association of Nepal contains One horned Rhino; an animal Nepal is popular for.
History
Beginnings
According to the 1877 book, History of Nepal edited by Daniel Wright:
Over time, cricket came to be considered a gentleman's sport, and involvement was limited mainly to the ruling Rana family and other members of the Nepali elite.
In 1946, the Cricket Association of Nepal was formed to promote cricket amongst the aristocracy. After the introduction of democracy through the Revolution of 1951, cricket began to spread to the rest of the population. In 1961, in an effort to promote cricket to the whole of Nepal, the Cricket Association of Nepal became part of the National Sports Council. Nevertheless, the National games tended to be limited to Kathmandu until the 1980s.
ICC membership
Improvements to communications and transport infrastructure in Nepal allowed the game to expand outside Kathmandu in the 1980s and Nepal became an Affiliate Member of the International Cricket Council in 1988. A major development program was begun in the early 1990s, which saw regional and district tournaments being established and the increased promotion of cricket in schools.
The local population's interest in cricket increased quickly, and the demand to play was such that restrictions had to be placed on the number teams in several tournaments until more facilities could be built in the mid-1990s. Nepal became an Associate Member of the International Cricket Council on February 2, 1996, which was the year the national side played for the first time in the 1996 ACC Trophy in Kuala Lumpur.
By 1998, the facilities in Nepal had improved sufficiently to allow them to host that year's ACC Trophy at grounds in Lalitpur and Kirtipur (at TU Cricket Ground) and Kathmandu.
Currently, the country has one of the best fan followings among ICC Associate Members. It lost its governing body, the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) which was suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) due to unnecessary government interference in 2016, but it was reinstated in October 2019.
21st century
2000 – 2009
In 2000, Nepal's youth development policy began to pay off when the Nepal national under-19 cricket team finished eighth in the Under-19 World Cup. The senior side had their best performance to date later in the year when they reached the semi-finals of the 2000 ACC Trophy before losing to Hong Kong at Sharjah. They competed in the ICC Trophy for the first time the following year. In the tournament in Ontario, they beat Germany and Gibraltar, but a loss to eventual runners-up Namibia prevented them from progressing past the first round.
Nepal were runners-up to the UAE in the 2002 ACC Trophy in Singapore and they hosted the ACC Emerging Nations Tournament in 2003, winning easily against Bhutan and the Maldives. They won so comprehensively that they were not invited back to the tournament the next time it was played in 2005. Raju Khadka became the first Nepalese cricketer to score an international century, when he slammed an unbeaten 105 off just 50 balls against Bhutan in the tournament.
Nepal played first-class cricket for the first time in 2004, playing in the ICC Intercontinental Cup against the UAE and Malaysia. They beat Malaysia, but drew with the UAE, failing to reach the semi-final stage. Nepal finished third in the 2004 ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament, which qualified them for the 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup, and finished 5th in the 2004 ACC Trophy, which qualified them for the repêchage tournament of the 2005 ICC Trophy. They finished third in this tournament after beating Qatar in a play-off, meaning that they did not qualify for the 2005 ICC Trophy. Shakti Gauchan scored a century against Italy and stayed unbeaten on 106 off 103 balls in the tournament. They beat the UAE and drew with Hong Kong in the 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup, but missed out on qualification for the semi-finals by half a point. They were runners-up to the UAE in the 2005 ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament.
In March 2006, Nepal played Namibia in Windhoek in a play-off match to decide the final team in the 2006 ICC Intercontinental Cup. Nepal needed to win outright to qualify for the main tournament, but the match was drawn after there was no play on the first day. Later in the year, they toured Pakistan, playing against the Pakistan Cricket Academy before playing in the 2006 ACC Trophy in Kuala Lumpur.
In the 2006 ACC Trophy, Nepal bowled Myanmar out for just 10 off 12.1 overs after Nepal won the toss and sent Myanmar in; no batsman scored more than one, the innings included five ducks, and extras top scored with five (three leg byes and two wides). Mehboob Alam and Binod Das picked up seven wickets and three wickets respectively. In reply, Nepal hit three off the first ball, followed by three wides that went for five, and then hit another three from the second legitimate delivery to win by ten wickets. Some critics called it the greatest mismatch in the history of international cricket and the score of 10 is the lowest in any level of men's international cricket. They finished fourth in the tournament after losing to Afghanistan in a play-off. They won the ACC Premier League in 2006.
They played in the 2007 ACC Twenty20 Cup in Kuwait, where they finished fourth in their first round group.
In May 2008, Nepal traveled to Jersey to play in 2008 ICC World Cricket League Division Five of the World Cricket League. Mehboob Alam set the world record by taking all ten wickets in the match against Mozambique. He got his name in the Guinness World Records for becoming the first bowler to take all 10 wickets in an ICC international cricket match with limited overs. Nepal topped Group A after the group qualifying matches but lost to Afghanistan in the semi-final and finished third overall after defeating the USA in the playoff for third place. With only the top two from this tournament qualifying for 2008 ICC World Cricket League Division Four in Tanzania later in the year, Nepal missed out on the chance to take their 2011 World Cup dream any further. Later, Nepal appeared in the 2008 ACC Trophy Elite and finished fourth after losing to the UAE in the semi-final and to Afghanistan in the playoff for third place.
Nepal finished fifth in the 2009 ACC Twenty20 Cup after beating Singapore by 9 wickets in the playoff for fifth place. In a group match against Kuwait, Nepal needed 7 runs off the last ball to win. Binod Bhandari, making his debut for the national team, hit a last-ball six to tie the match. Eventually Nepal won the match in bowl-out.
2010 – 2014
Nepal won their first major tournament, beating USA in the final of 2010 ICC World Cricket League Division Five held at Kathmandu in February 2010. Sharad Vesawkar scored a century and stayed unbeaten on 105 off 134 balls against Fiji in the tournament. Nepal played very well in 2010 ACC Trophy Elite, winning all the matches in group stage and beating Malaysia in the semi-final by 8 runs but lost the final against an ODI team Afghanistan by 95 runs and finished runners-up. Nepal came third in 2010 ICC World Cricket League Division Four, thus remaining in Division Four for 2012 ICC World Cricket League Division Four. In November, Nepal appeared in 2010 Asian Games and lost against Sri Lanka in the quarter-final. It was the first match Nepal had played against a Full Member nation.
In December 2011, Nepal hosted the 2011 ACC Twenty20 Cup and finished fourth, thereby qualifying for the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier.
Nepal finished seventh in the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier after defeating Kenya and Papua New Guinea in play-offs. Shakti Gauchan took the first international hat-trick for Nepal against Denmark in the tournament. In September 2012, Nepal appeared in 2012 ICC World Cricket League Division Four, where Subash Khakurel and Anil Mandal both scored century. Subash Khakurel scored 115 off 142 balls against United States and Anil Mandal scored 113 off 134 balls against Denmark. In a match against Malaysia, Shakti Gauchan set up Nepal's convincing victory with a new record. The left-arm orthodox spinner's figures of 10–8–2–3 is the best economical bowling spell ever in limited over encounters. Nepal won all the six matches of the tournament and progressed to 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three. Nepalese players won man of the match awards in all the six matches Nepal played and Basanta Regmi won the player of the tournament award after taking a total of 21 wickets in the tournament. In October, Nepal competed in 2012 ACC Trophy Elite and had to share the trophy with the UAE after a thrilling tied final in Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE on 12 October 2012. UAE posted 241, a target that looked in Nepal's sight after their 94-run opening stand. However, they lost wickets consistently, and eventually needed 12 off the last over with just two wickets in hand. Shakti Gauchan smacked Shadeep Silva's left-arm for a six, but could manage only one run off the last ball, hence ending a splendid final match in a tie. Skipper Paras Khadka scored an unbeaten 106 off just 77 balls against Kuwait, his maiden century for Nepal, in the tournament.
Nepal competed in 2013 ACC Twenty20 Cup held at home grounds in Kirtipur and Lalitpur. Nepal easily marched towards the final of the tournament with high class performance from their captain, Paras Khadka, and the team thrashed the UAE by 6 wickets. Nepal had earlier qualified for 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, reaching the semi-final of the tournament. Nepal had to be satisfied with runners-up status after losing to an ODI team Afghanistan by 7 wickets. The Nepalese team was supported by a huge fan following throughout this tournament with an average turnout of 15,000 – 20,000 (about 25,000 in the semi-final and final) during their matches while hundreds of thousands watched live on television – undoubtedly the largest public support outside the Test-playing nations. Nepal won the 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three held in Bermuda and qualified for the 2014 World Cup Qualifier. Nepal also played in 2013 ACC Emerging Teams Cup, where under-23 age level teams of the four Test nations – Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka took part along with the UAE, Afghanistan and the hosts Singapore. Nepal finished third in 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier held in UAE and qualified for the 2014 ICC World Twenty20, defeating Hong Kong off the last ball of the thrilling quarter-final.
T20I status and series
On 28 June 2014, the ICC awarded T20I status to Nepal, who took part and performed exceptionally well in the 2014 ICC World Twenty20. Nepal had already played three T20I matches before gaining the status, as the ICC had earlier announced that all matches at the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 would have T20I status.
First ever T20I match for Nepal
Nepal lost the status in July 2015, after failing to qualify for the 2016 ICC World Twenty20.
Nepal played their first ever Twenty20 International series against Hong Kong in November 2014 in Sri Lanka. Initially the series was scheduled for three matches but only one match was played because of continuous rain and poor ground conditions. Nepal lost the match but Sompal Kami put in impressive performance by scoring 40 off 31 balls, coming in at No. 10. This was the world-record for the highest score made by a batsman at that position.
Nepal played their second Twenty20 International series against the Netherlands from 30 June to 3 July 2015. Nepal lost the 4 match series 3–1. Paras Khadka was named the player of the series.
Nepal missed out on qualification for the 2015 World Cup, finishing ninth in the 2014 World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand in January. Nepal were the best of the three associate teams on display in Group A of the 2014 ICC World Twenty20. They comprehensively beat Hong Kong, held their own with the bat against Bangladesh and pulled off a strong win against Afghanistan, their first since 2004 in any format against their old rivals. Nepal's bowlers did not bowl a single wide or no ball throughout the tournament. Nepal were also the only team to not concede 140 in an innings in the tournament. Nepal finished third in the 2014 ACC Premier League, where they beat ODI teams UAE and Hong Kong, and qualified for the 2014 ACC Championship. In September, Nepal participated in the 2014 Asian Games but failed to qualify beyond quarter-finals. Nepal won the 2014 ICC World Cricket League Division Three held in Malaysia and qualified for the 2015 ICC World Cricket League Division Two. Gyanendra Malla scored his maiden century, 114 off 125 balls, against Singapore in the tournament. In November, Nepal toured Sri Lanka, as Sri Lanka Cricket approved a request from the Asian Cricket Council to support the region's Non-Test playing countries, where they played two three-day matches against Sri Lanka Cricket Combined XI. and a Twenty20 International series against Hong Kong.
2015 – 2019
Nepal finished fourth in the 2015 ICC World Cricket League Division Two in Namibia and qualified for the 2015–17 ICC World Cricket League Championship. But Nepal failed to secure promotion to Division One and qualification to 2015–17 ICC Intercontinental Cup after finishing third in the round-robin stage. Basanta Regmi became the first bowler to take 100 wickets in the World Cricket League. He achieved this feat after taking 2 wickets against Netherlands in the tournament. On 11 April 2015, Nepal hosted a 63-over (31.3 overs per side) tribute match in honour of the Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes who was batting on 63 when he was struck by a bouncer. The match was played at the TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur between Team Red, combined of players of Nepal and Australia and Team Blue, composed of all Nepalese players. In June, Nepal toured Netherlands to play a Twenty20 International series against the home team. Then Nepal appeared in the 2015 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier held in Ireland and Scotland, where the team finished seventh in the Group A, thus failing to qualify for the second consecutive ICC World Twenty20.
Nepal finished second in 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Two to earn a place in the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier. On 15 March, Nepal claimed One Day International (ODI) status for the first time with their win over Papua New Guinea in the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier 9th place play off encounter. Due to gaining ODI status, Nepal also regained Twenty20 International (T20I) status. After gaining ODI status, Nepal's captain at the Cricket World Cup Qualifier, Paras Khadka, said that they want to gain Test status, which he believes will take between eight and ten years to achieve.
Nepal played their first 3 match ODI series against UAE and won 2–1, their first ODI series win. Paras Khadka became the first batsman to score an ODI century for Nepal. Sundeep Jora became the world's youngest player to score a half-century in T20I format, at the age of 17 years and 103 days. In October 2019, the Cricket Association of Nepal, which was suspended in 2016, was readmitted as an ICC member.
2020 – 2022
Nepal hosted United States and Oman in the fifth round of the 2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 in February 2020. Nepal won 2 games (1 each) out of 4 in the series. In the last match of the series, Nepal bowled out the United States for the joint-lowest total of 35 in ODI cricket. Kushal Malla (Nep) made his ODI debut, and at the age of 15 years and 340 days, he became the youngest male cricketer to score an international half-century while playing against the USA on February 8, 2020.
Nepal hosted the Netherlands and Malaysia in the 2020–21 Nepal Tri-Nation Series in April 2021. Nepal finished top in the points table winning three out of four group matches and qualified for the final, where they played against the Netherlands. Nepal comprehensively beat the Netherlands by 142 runs and won the series. Kushal Bhurtel, making his debut for Nepal, scored 278 runs in the series at an average of 69.50 and a strike rate of 140.40 and won the Player of the series award.
Nepal toured Oman in September 2021, to play two ODI matches against PNG. They won both matches comfortably, showcasing their skills and determination on the cricket field. In the first ODI, Nepal won by two wickets with 63 balls remaining. Sandeep Lamichhane won the man of the match award for his impressive bowling attack of 4/35 in his 10 overs, while Rohit Paudel scored the highest for Nepal with a steady knock of 41 off 65. In the second ODI, Nepal won by a whopping 151 runs with Sandeep Lamichhane again winning the man of the match award for his exceptional bowling of 6/11 in 5.1 overs. Aasif Sheikh, Kushal Bhurtel, Bikram Sob made ODI debut for Nepal in this series. The second ODI was the day/night match of the series.
Nepal then played 4 back-to-back day/night ODI in September 2021 against USA and Oman. it was the sixth round of the 2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2. In the first match against the USA, Kushal Bhurtel won the man of the match award with his score of 84 off 93 and 3 catches, helped Nepal beat USA by 5 wickets with 6 balls remaining. Nepal lost its second game of the series with Oman by 5 wickets even though Aasif Sheikh scored 90 off 112 in this match. Nepal lost its third game of the series as well, this time against the USA by 6 wickets. Gulsan Jha made his ODI debut in the match. Nepal won its last match of the series against Oman by 7 wickets with 190 balls remaining. Karan Kc won the man of the match in the game for his bowling spell of 4/25.
In march of 2022, Nepal toured UAE for the seventh round of the 2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 to play 2 games each against UAE and PNG. In the first match of the series against PNG, Nepal won by 2 wickets with 4 balls remaining. Rohit Paudel was the man of the match for his 60 off 83 balls. Sagar Dhakal made his ODI debut in the game. Nepal lost both of their 2nd and 3rd game against UAE by 48 and 99 runs respectively Nepal won its 4th game of the series against PNG by 7 wickets with 78 balls remaining. Aarif Sheikh was the man of the match for his all-round performance of 59* off 102 and 1/21 in his 10 overs.
Nepal toured the United States for the eighth round of the 2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 to play 2 games each against United States and Oman. In the first match of the series against Oman, Nepal lost by 13 runs despite the 5 wickets haul by Karan KC (5-38 in 10 overs). Sunil Dhamala made an ODI debut in this match. The second match against the USA was declared tied as both teams could not surpass 274 runs in the given 50 overs each. Dev Khanal made his half-century whereas Mohammad Aadil Alam made his ODI debut and took 3 wickets for the team. Nepal won its 3rd game with wide margin against Oman by 7 wickets with 101 balls remaining. Karan KC was the man of the match for his 5/33 in 9 overs whereas Aasif Sheikh(62) and Kushal Bhurtel(56) scored half-centuries and Sandeep Lamichhanegot 3 wickets in the match. Nepal lost its last game of the series against the USA by 39 runs despite Karan KC's 3-wicket-haul and Aarif Sheikh's 63 runs with the bat.
Nepal then travelled to the Scotland for the ninth round of the 2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 to play 2 games each against Scotland and Namibia in July 2022. Nepal lost its first game of the series against Namibia by 40 runs. Spinner Sandeep Lamichhane took 4 wickets and Aarif Sheikh scored 50 runs in the match. Basir Ahamad made an ODI debut for Nepal(Cap 33). Nepal beat the Scotland in the next game by 5 wickets with 149 balls remaining. Aasif Sheikh was the player of the match with his score of 71 off 62 balls whereas bowlers Sompal Kami and Mohammad Aadil Alam took 3 wickets each. The next game was against Namibia which they lost again by 63 runsSandeep Lamichhane's 4-wicket haul. Nepal lost its last game against the host Scotland as well by 8 wickets with 186 balls remaining. Fast Bowler Kishore Mahato made his ODI debut in the game(Cap 34).
In between the league 2 ODI games, Nepal toured Kenya to play 5 T20I against the host Kenya in August 2022. Nepal won the first game by 5 wickets with 4 balls remaining. Sompal Kami was the man of the match for his bowling spell of 3/22 in 4 overs. Kenya won the second T20I by 18 runs Basir Ahamad made T20I debut for Nepal in that match. Nepal won the third T20I by 4 wickets with 3 balls remaining. Gyanendra Malla was the player of the match for his 46 off 41 balls. Arjun Saud made T20I debut for Nepal in this match. Nepal lost the fourth match of the series by 7 runs despite Sandeep Lamichhane's maiden 5-wicket haul in T20I. Nepal won its final game of the series by 31 runs. Gyanendra Malla won the man of the match award for his knock of 59 off 44 balls. With the win, Nepal won the series 3-2 and Sandeep Lamichhane was named player of the series for his 12 wickets in 5 games.
The next tour was in December 2022 where Nepal travelled to Namibia for the tenth round of the 2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 to play 2 games each against Scotland and Namibia. The first game was declared no-result due to rain. Gyanendra Malla scored 75 off 94 balls for Nepal in the match and Opener Arjun Saud made his ODI debut for Nepal(Cap 35). In the second game, Nepal lost with Scotland by 3 wickets and 107 balls remaining. In the third game, Nepal lost against Namibia by 86 runs. Spinner Lalit Rajbanshi took 4 wickets in the game. In the fourth game of the series against Scotland, Nepal was all out for 119 runs in 36th over and lost the game pretty marginally by 8 wickets with 198 balls remaining.
2023 - Present
In early February 2023, just before the home series against the table-topper Scotland and table-third ranked Namibia, Nepal hired Monty Desai as the head coach of the national team. In mid-February of that year, Nepal hosted a 4 match ODI series for the eleventh round of the 2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 to play 2 matches each against Namibia and Scotland at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur. Nepal played its first match against Namibia winning by 2 wickets with 14 balls remaining. Kushal Bhurtel was the player of the match for his maiden ODI century (115 off 113). Captain Rohit Paudel also scored 72 off 76 and bowlers Karan KC and Sandeep Lamichhane took 5 and 3 wickets respectively. Nepal won its second game of the series against Scotland by 3 wickets with 18 balls remaining. All-rounder Dipendra Singh Airee was the player of the match for his all-round performance of 85 not out of 116 balls and 1 for 25 in 5 overs. Kushal Malla also scored a rapid 81 off 67 balls and bowler Sandeep Lamichhane took 3 wickets in the match. Nepal won its third game of the series as well at home soil against Namibia, winning by 3 wickets with 15 balls remaining. Opener Aasif Sheikh won the player of the match award for his exceptional batting display of 81 off 98 balls. Gyanendra Malla and Kushal Malla also scored half centuries scoring 65 and 62 runs respectively. On the bowling side, leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane took 3 wickets in the match. The last match of the home-series was against Scotland which Nepal won again by beating the table-topper Scotland by 2 wickets with 35 balls remaining. Captain Rohit Paudel won the player of the match award for his critical contribution of 95 runs in 101 balls. Bowlers Sandeep Lamichhane and Karan KC took 4 and 3 wickets each. Karan KC's death over batting (31 of 37) partnership with Rohit for the ninth wicket was vital for the team's result.
In late February, soon after the home series, national team travelled to Dubai for the 4 match ODI series against the United Arab Emirates and the Papua New Guinea. It was for the twelfth round of the 2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2. Nepal beat PNG in the first match by 4 wickets with 28 balls remaining. Kushal Bhurtel was the man of the match for his 56 off 69. Fast bowler Gulsan Jha took 3 wickets and his duo-fast bowler Pratis GC made an ODI debut for Nepal (Cap 37). Spinner Sandeep Lamichhane was not in the playing 11 in the match as he was waiting for the supreme-court's decision to allow him to leave the country. The next match was against the home side UAE. Sandeep was allowed to travel to UAE where he joins the team in replacement for the injured Mousom Dhakal to play against the home side. Despite his 3 wickets haul, and batting of 26* of 24, Nepal lost its match by 68 runs. Kushal Malla also scored a rapid-fire half-century (60 off 53) in the match. Nepal beat PNG by 3 wickets with 12 balls remaining in the third match of the series. Aasif Sheikh was the player of the match for his batting knock of 86* of 130 balls. Sandeep Lamichhane's unbroken 50 run partnership with Aasif Sheikh for the eighth wicket was crucial in the match. Nepal beat UAE by 42 runs in the final match of the series. Bhim Sharki won the player of the match for his 70 runs of 99 balls. Bowlers Sompal Kami and Dipendra Singh Airee took 3 wickets in the match.
The thirteenth and final round of the 2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 was to be held in Nepal, between team Nepal, the UAE, and the PNG. Nepal played its first home match of the series against the PNG winning by 52 runs. In the match, Opener Aasif Sheikh scored his maiden ODI century scoring 110 runs a ball and won the player of the match award. Bowler Sandeep Lamichhane took 4 wickets in the game. Nepal won the second game as well beating UAE by massive 177 runs. Rohit Paudel won the man of the match for his crucial knock of 77 runs in 112 balls and spinner Lalit Rajbanshi took 5 wickets in the match. With this win, Nepal won 9 of their 10 games in the league 2 and regained the ODI status for next 5 years.
Nepal played its third game of the home series against the PNG. Nepal won the match by 9 wickets with 254 balls remaining. Leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane was the man of the match for his third ODI 5-wicket haul for Nepal. Nepal bundled PNG for 95 runs and chased down the total in 7.4 overs, thanks to unbeaten knock of Aasif Sheikh's 21 ball 53* runs. With this win, Nepal now needed just a win in next match against the UAE to directly qualify for the World cup qualifiers 2023 to be held in Zimbabwe later in the year.
On March 16, 2023, Nepal played its final and must-win match against the UAE under the Bad light-affected game. Nepal won the match by 9 runs due to DLS method. Nepal had to chase down the highest total to be chased down by Nepali side in ODI, a massive target of 311 runs. Thanks to half-century contributions by Kushal Bhurtel(50), Bhim Sharki(67), Aarif Sheikh(52), and Gulsan Jha(50*), Nepal was 269/6 in 44 overs winning the match by 9 runs due to DLS method. With this win, Nepal finished 3rd out of 7 teams in the 2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2, and qualified automatically for the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe to be held in June 2023. It was Nepal's 11 must-win victories in the last 12 remaining games in the series to achieve the landmark.
On June 18, 2023, Nepal played their first ODI against a full member nation. This was the first match of the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier, Nepal faced Zimbabwe in the Harare Sports Club, Harare. Zimbabwe won the toss and opted to field first. Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh stitched the highest opening and overall partnership of 171 for Nepal in ODIs. Bhurtel top-scored with a score of 99 (95), Nepal posted a total of 290/8 in 50 overs. In the second innings, Sompal Kami and Gulshan Jha picked the wickets of the Zimbabwean openers. However, courtesy Craig Ervine and Sean Williams' centuries Zimbabwe defeated Nepal by 8 wickets.
2023 ACC Premier Cup
Nepal hosted 2023 ACC Men's Premier Cup in April/May 2023. It was the final stage of qualification for the 2023 Asia Cup tournament. The 10 associate teams played the tournament in the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground and Mulpani Cricket Stadium hosting the matches. The winner of the tournament would qualify for the 2023 Asia Cup as well as the top three teams would also qualify for the 2023 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup.
Nepal started the tournament with the win against Malaysia winning by 6 wickets with 82 balls remaining. Kushal Malla was the man of the match for his rapid-fire half-century, scoring 77* off 40. Bhim Sharki also scored 71 off 98 whereas bowlers Sandeep Lamichhane and Sompal Kami took 3 wickets each.
Nepal played its second game against Oman at Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur. It was the only ODI game for Nepal in the group stage. It was also the 50th One day international match for Nepal. Kushal Malla was the player of the match again for his maiden century in the ODI, scoring 108 off 64 balls. It was also the fastest ODI century by Nepali batsmen, scoring century in just 59 balls. Nepal batted first and asked Oman to chase down the highest totals Nepal had ever scored- a massive total of 310 runs. Nepal won the match by 84 runs. Sompal Kami also scored his second ODI half century in the match scoring 63* off 48 balls, whereas bowlers Karan KC and Sandeep Lamichhane took 3 wickets each. With the first wicket of the match for Sandeep, He broke the record of Rashid Khan to take fastest 100 wickets in ODI in terms of number of matches played- 42 matches, previous record was 44 matches.
The third match against Saudi Arabia at Mulpani Cricket Stadium was abandoned without a ball bowled due to rain interruption.
The last group stage match was against Qatar. Nepal won the match by 68 runs. Sandeep Lamichhane won the player of the match for his all-round performance of 42* off 58 and a bowling spell of 5/14 in 9.1 overs. Sompal Kami also took 3 wickets in the match. With the win, Nepal finished the group stage as the table topper and advanced to Semi-final to play against Kuwait.
On 28 April, Nepal played its semi-final match against group B runner-up Kuwait. Kuwait won the toss and elected to field first. The match was reduced to 42 overs due to rain. Batting first, Nepal had scored 281/9 in 42 overs. Rohit Paudel (94 off 95) and Kushal Malla (57 off 44) scored half-centuries in the match. In response, Kuwait was 37/6 in 8.3 overs before the match was called off due to rain. Even though the match did not produce a clear winner, Nepal qualified for the final by virtue of being the top placed team from Group A.
Regardless of the final, Nepal had qualified for the 2023 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup to be held in Sri Lanka in July 2023 by declaring a spot in the Finals.
Nepal played the finals against the United Arab Emirates at TU ground on May 1, 2023, Nepal won the toss and elected to bowl first. UAE was 9 down for 106 in 27.3 overs, before rain interrupted the day's play and the match postponed to the reserve day- the next day. Eventually, UAE got all-out on 117 and Nepal, despite losing three early wickets, won the game by 7 wickets courtesy to Gulsan Jha's 67 off 84 balls, his 2nd half century, and Bhim Sharki's 36 off 72 balls with the bat. In terms of bowling, Lalit Rajbanshi took 4 for 14, his 2nd 4-for in his 7.1 overs. Gulsan Jha won the Player of the match whereas Sandeep Lamichhane won the Player of the tournament.
The win in the Final guaranteed "The trip to Pakistan and Sri-Lanka" for the Nepali team to the 2023 Asia Cup for the first time to be held in September 2023 where they were to be playing against test giants India and Pakistan.
2023 ICC World Cup Qualifier
Following the tournament, Nepal travelled to Zimbabwe to play 2 warm-up matches prior to the main-event 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier in June-July 2023. Nepal lost its first warm-up match against UAE by 3 wickets with 1 ball remaining but won the 2nd game against Oman.
Nepal played its first game of the tournament against the host Zimbabwe on June 18, 2023. It was Nepal's first ever ODI match against a full member team. Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to field first. Batting first, Nepal scored 290/8 in 50 overs. Kushal Bhurtel scored 99 runs, missing a ton by 1 run and Aasif Sheikh scored 66 runs. Their partnership of 171 runs for the first wicket was the highest partnership for Nepal for any wickets at the time. Zimbabwe chased the target in 45th over and won the opening match of the tournament.
The second match was against USA. Nepal won the toss and elected to field first. Karan KC took 4 wickets 9 overs and Gulsan Jha took 3 wickets in 10 overs, restricting USA for 207 runs. In the match, wicketkeeper Aasif Sheikh broke the record for most dismissals by wicketkeeper for Nepal in ODI going past Binod Bhandari's 22 dismissals. While chasing, Bhim Sharki played a brilliant inning of 77* to help win the match. Karan KC was the player of the match.
In the match against West Indies, Nepal won the toss and elected to field first. Lalit Rajbanshi took 3 wickets and west indies scored 339/7 in 50 overs. while chasing, Nepal was all out for 238 runs, Aarif Sheikh scored 63 runs. In the match, Aarif Sheikh and Gulsan Jha made 68 run partnership for 7th wicket, which was the highest partnership for Nepal in ODI for 7th wicket at the time.
Nepal played its last game in the group-stage against Netherlands. it was the must win game for both teams. Netherlands won the toss and elected to field first. Coming to bat first, Nepal was all out for 167 runs in 45th over. Netherlands chased the target comfortably in 28th over and won the match. On the other hand, with the loss, Nepal did not qualify for super 6 round of the tournament. Zimbabwe, Netherlands and West Indies were the teams to qualify from the group.
For the 7th place play-off semi-final, Nepal played against UAE, Nepal won the toss and elected to field first. Karan KC and Sandeep Lamichhane took 3 wickets each, restricting UAE for 181 runs. Nepal chased down the total in 44th over and won the match. Dipendra Singh Airee won the player of the match by scoring unbeaten 79*. During the chase, the unbeaten partnership of Dipendra Singh Airee and Sandeep Lamichhane of 79* runs for the 8th wicket was the highest partnership for Nepal for 8th wicket in ODI.
Nepal played the last game of the tournament for the 7th place play-off final against Ireland. Ireland won the toss and elected to field first. With the help of Gulsan Jha's 57*, Nepal scored 268/9 in the first inning. Ireland chased down the total with 4 balls remaining. Karan KC took 4 wickets in the match. Following the result, Nepal finished the tournament 8th out of 10 in the competition.
2023 ACC Men's Emerging team Asia Cup
Nepal had qualified to play this tournament by winning the 2023 ACC Men's Premier Cup. It was a List-A tournament comprising 8 A-teams along with Nepal. Nepal played 3 games in the tournament against Pakistan-A, India-A, and UAE-A simultaneously. Nepal lost both of its game against the full nation and won the third game against UAE-A. Following the result, Nepal finished 3rd out of 4 teams in the group and thus did not qualify for the semi-finals. India-A and Pakistan-A were the teams to qualify for the semi-final from the group.
2023 Asia Cup
Nepal had qualified to play this year's edition of Asia cup by winning the 2023 ACC Men's Premier Cup held in Nepal earlier this year. Nepal was in the same group with the test giants India and Pakistan. Nepal played its first game of the tournament against Pakistan on August 30, 2023, at Multan Cricket Stadium, Pakistan. Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first. Pakistan scored a massive 342/6 in 50 overs. Nepal was all out for 104 runs within 24th over and lost the match by huge 238 runs. Sompal Kami had conceded the most 85 runs in 10 overs, which was the highest runs conceded by Nepali bowler in ODI at the time.
The second match was against India on September 4 at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Sri Lanka. India won the toss and elected to field first. Nepal got all out for 230 runs in 49th over. Aasif Sheikh scored 58 runs in the match. In reply, India chased down the reduced total (due to rain interruption) of 145 runs in 23 overs without losing any wicket in 21st over and won the match. With the result, Nepal did not qualify for semi-final of the tournament. Pakistan and India were the teams to qualify from the group.
2023 Asian Games
Nepal then travelled to Huangzhou, China for the 2023 Asian games. It was the T20I tournament and the first T20I game for Nepal of the year. Nepal played its first game of the tournament against Mongolia, who were playing their first ever T20I match. Mongolia won the toss and elected to field first. Coming to bat first, Kushal Malla scored 137* in 50 balls, the highest score in T20I for Nepal, surpassing Dipendra Singh Airee's 110 against Malaysia. Rohit Paudel and Dipendra Singh Airee also scored half centuries each scoring 61 and 52* simultaneously. Nepal ended up scoring a massive 314/3 in 20 overs, which was the highest team score by any team in T20I ever surpassing Afghanistan's 278. Mongolia was 41 all-out in 14th over, thus Nepal won the match by 273 runs. In this match, several T20I records were broken. The 273 runs win margin was the highest win margin in term of run for Nepal surpassing previous 142 runs win margin record against the Netherlands. The 3rd wicket partnership of 193 runs between Rohit Paudel and Kushal Malla broke the previous T20I record of 184 between Devon Conway and Glenn Phillips of New Zealand against West Indies. It was also the highest partnership for Nepal for any wicket surpassing previous record of 171 between Kushal Bhurtel and Dipendra Singh Airee for the third wicket partnership against Philippines. Kushal Malla also broke the record for the most sixes in an innings for Nepal with 12 sixes breaking previous record of Paras Khadka's 9 sixes against Singapore. Kushal Malla also broke the record for the most runs scored in boundaries in an innings by scoring 104 runs via boundaries, he surpassed previous record of 82 runs by Paras Khadka against Singapore. Kushal Malla also broke the record for fastest hundred in T20I, scoring century in 34 balls, beating the previous record of 35 balls century by David Miller of South Africa, Rohit Sharma of India, and Sudesh Wickramasekara of Czech Republic. Dipendra Singh Airee also broke the record for fastest 50 in T20I, scoring half-century in 9 balls, beating the previous record of 12 balls by Yuvraj Singh of India.
Nepal played its second game of the tournament against Maldives. Nepal won the toss and elected to bat first. Nepal scored 212/7 in 20 overs. Rohit Paudel scored 52 off 27 balls. In response, Maldives was all out for 74 with 2 balls to spear. Abinash Bohara bowled an impressive spell of 6/11 in 3.4 overs. The 70 runs partnership for the fifth wicket between Rohit Paudel and Gulsan Jha broke the previous record of 61 runs partnership between Binod Bhandari and Aarif Sheikh for the highest run partnership for the 5th wicket in T20I for Nepal. Dipendra Singh Airee also surpassed Gyanendra Malla's record for most matches in T20I going past Malla's 45.
With the win, Nepal reached the quarter-final of the tournament to play against India. India won the toss and elected to bat first. India scored 202/4 in 20 overs. In response, Nepal scored 179/9 in 20 overs. Thus, India won the match by 23 runs, and Nepal were knocked out of the tournament.
Nepal Tri-Nation T20I Series
In Mid-October, right before the 2023 ICC Men's T20 World cup Asia Regional Final, Nepal hosted a triangular series against UAE and Hong Kong as a preparation for the main event to be held later that month. All of the group stage matches were to be played in Mulpani Cricket Stadium in Mulpani and the final were to take place in Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur. It was also the first time a T20I match was played in Mulpani Cricket Stadium renamed as Jayakumar shah international stadium. The venue became 190th ground to host T20I match. Sandeep Lamichhane were to miss the series as he had pulled out of it stating to "revitalize myself" and "needed family time".
Nepal played its first game against the UAE on 18 October at Mulpani. Mousom Dhakal made his T20I debut for Nepal (cap 44). Nepal won the toss and elected to field first. UAE scored 140/7 in 20 overs and in response Nepal chased down the score in 18.5 overs losing 3 wickets. Karan KC took 3 wickets in the match. Rohit Paudel scored 51* and took 2 catches and won the player of the match award. The 93-run unbroken 4th wicket partnership between Rohit Paudel and Dipendra Singh Airee broke the record for the highest partnership for 4th wicket for Nepal in T20I.
Nepal played its second game the next day against Hong Kong. Nepal won the toss and elected to field first. Hong Kong was all out for 94 runs in 19.3 overs. Karan KC took 4 wickets (4/15) in the game and was awarded player of the match. In response, Nepal chased down the total in 13.5 overs losing 4 wickets.
In the third game against Hong Kong, Nepal won the toss and elected to bat first. Pratis GC made his T20I debut for Nepal (cap 45). Nepal scored 213/6 in 20 overs. Kushal Malla scored 92 in 41 balls and Dipendra Singh Airee scored 57 off 34 balls. In response, Hong Kong scored 134/8 in 20 overs, thus losing the game by 79 runs. Kushal Malla won the player of the match award. in the match, the 145 runs partnership for the 5th wicket between Dipendra Singh Airee and Kushal Malla broke the record for the highest run partnership for 5th wicket in T20I, breaking the record of 121 between James Neesham and Mark Chapman of New Zealand. Among Nepali batters, the duo broke the record of 70 runs between Rohit Paudel and Gulsan Jha for 5th wicket partnership. With the win, Nepal reached the final of the series with a game yet to play.
Nepal played its 4th game of the tri-series against the UAE. Nepal won the toss and elected to field first. UAE scored 164/7 in 20 overs. In response, Nepal chased down the total in 20th over with 4 balls to spear. Aasif Sheikh scored 62 in 50 balls. Dipendra Singh Airee won the player of the match for his quick knock of 40 off 15 balls. The 99-run partnership between Aasif Sheikh and Rohit Paudel broke the record of 93 runs partnership between Dipendra Singh Airee and Rohit Paudel for the 4th wicket partnership in T20I for Nepal.
The final game of the tr-series was against Nepal and the UAE. It was the only game to be held at Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground. UAE won the toss and elected to field first. Nepal scored 162/8 in 20 overs. Kushal Bhurtel scored 50 off 29 balls. In response, UAE chased down the total losing 6 wickets with a ball to spear. With the loss, Nepal finished as the runner-up of the Triangular series.
International grounds
TU Cricket Ground in Kirtipur and Mulpani Cricket Stadium in Kathmandu are the only two grounds with One Day International status.
Tournament history
ICC Cricket World Cup
ICC T20 World Cup
ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier
ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier
Asia Cup
Asia Cup Qualifier
Asian Games
World Cricket League / Cricket World Cup League 2
South Asian Games
Current squad
The following is a list of centrally contracted players or players that were named in the ODI or T20I squads in the past year.
The list of 15 players to be selected for upcoming 2023 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier .
Coaching staff
Head Coaches History
Records and statistics
International Match Summary – Nepal
Last updated 31 October 2023
One Day Internationals
Highest team total: 310/8 v. Oman on 21 April 2023 at Tribhuvan University Cricket Ground, Kirtipur.
Highest individual score: 126, Rohit Paudel v. Papua New Guinea on 25 March 2022 at Tribhuvan University Cricket Ground, Kirtipur.
Best individual bowling figures: 6/11, Sandeep Lamichhane v. Papua New Guinea on 10 September 2021 at Oman Cricket Academy, Al Amerat.
ODI record versus other nations
Records complete to ODI #4632. Last updated 4 September 2023.
Twenty20 Internationals
Highest team total: 314/3 v. Mongolia on 27 September 2023 at Zhejiang University of Technology Cricket Field, Hangzhou.
Highest individual score: 137*, Kushal Malla v. Mongolia on 27 September 2023 at Zhejiang University of Technology Cricket Field, Hangzhou.
Best individual bowling figures: 6/11, Abinash Bohara v. Maldives on 1 October 2023 at Zhejiang University of Technology Cricket Field, Hangzhou.
T20I record versus other nations
Records complete to T20I #2340. Last updated 31 October 2023.
See also
Cricket Association of Nepal
Nepal women's national cricket team
Nepal national under-19 cricket team
List of Nepal One Day International cricketers
List of Nepal Twenty20 International cricketers
List of Nepalese First-class cricketers
List of Nepalese List A cricketers
List of Nepalese Twenty20 cricketers
Everest Premier League
Dhangadhi Premier League
National League Cricket
SPA Cup
List of Nepal One Day International records
List of Nepal Twenty20 International cricket records
Prime Minister One Day Cup
Prime Minister Cup Women's National Tournament
References
External links
Cricket teams in Nepal
National cricket teams
Nepal in international cricket
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