Nepal got qualified for the 2014 ICC World Twenty20. Aside from that it is among those six teams who have cooked it to the first round of World Cup Twenty20 qualifying round that took place in the UAE last November. Nepal Captain Paras Khadka has gone through a press conference at Dhaka hotel today. He looks proud with his team’s achievement.
Nepal is playing cricket from 1996, sincerely and they have sought hard to join the stream of international cricket since then. They had stayed on their hardworking for a tenner to get to this level.
“It is a great opportunity for us. It is not like we have only qualified for this tournament and worked for three months. We have been playing for 10-12 years with hard work and playing continuous cricket. We are here to compete and play to the best of our ability.” Skipper Khadka said, “If we play to our potential, things should be good for us.” He sounded pretty confident.
Khadka thinks that their achievements will amplify the enthusiasm of cricket in the country and the government will acquire an interest in the betterment of the biz. “I think we have been playing cricket since 1996. We have been part of the ACC (Asian Cricket Council) since then. CAN (Cricket Association of Nepal) is unrivalled of the oldest sporting associations back home. We are going there.”
Football and Cricket, these two games always go hand in hand in that country. Khadka said positively that the followers of cricket in the area are somewhat huge and that can beat any other Test-playing nation. “Football and cricket are the two most popular sports. Everybody sticks to us. Kids love the game. The game is really growing big time. It is very exciting. We have an amazing fan following back home. The number of cricket fans that we have matched any Test-playing country.” Khadka said.
Nepal’s playing at this level brings surprise to many people in the cricketing world. The team has to utilize this opportunity as a breakthrough. Nepal government seems very keen to help the team after they have confirmed their place in the Twenty20 World Cup tournament. “I hope we can move forward from here.” Khadka said.
Nepal started catching the eyes in international cricket in the year 2006 when they won the under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka. But criticism did not leave them. Khadka said, “There was always the criticism that we only do well at the U-19 level. But the national team has done well in the last two years. You need the junior structure as well. What we need is a basic structure back home.”
Left-arm spinner and left-arm batsman Rahul Vishwakarma was recalling how he and his co-players always dreamt to reach this level from their childhood. He said, “It feels great to be playing at this level, but we belong to this level,” Vishwakarma said. “Hopefully we will do well in this tournament.”
