In a bid to rise fund for earthquake relief, Nepal hope to stage a fixture against Afghanistan at Sharjah, UAE daily The National reported.
Discussions between the cricket boards from the two countries have taken place regarding a charity match later this year, as part of the “Bat for Nepal” initiative.
Nepal will play a series of matches during the next two years, starting with a game in Kuala Lumpur on August 9, to raise funds for earthquake relief in Nepal.
Bhawana Ghimire, the chief executive of the Cricket Association of Nepal, envisages playing eight fixtures in 24 months. She says the majority of the funds made from the series of matches will go directly to earthquake relief aid, with some also being set aside to help finance the country’s cricket infrastructure
“The country is the priority for us,” she said. “Of course, the country is rebuilding and sharing people’s pain and suffering has been a priority for us – all of us – including players and administrators. We need to take our job seriously. Whatever happened, we need to overcome that situation.”
However, plans for the Sharjah fixture are complicated because of the UAE’s laws regarding the registering of charitable organisations. If it did come to pass, it would likely prove a popular attraction, going by the evidence of past meetings between the two sides.
When Afghanistan beat Nepal in Sharjah in March 2012, the crowd was larger than at most of the fixtures played between Pakistan and England in that winter’s series in the UAE.
That crowd was dwarfed by the turnout for the World Twenty20 qualifying encounter in November 2013. Even though the match was curtailed by unseasonal rains in Sharjah, around 8,000 people attended a seven-over per side match, which Afghanistan won.