India's hand behind Nepal's historic feat in Sharjah

CHENNAI: Not long ago a youth uprising killed more than 70 people and toppled the Nepal government. With the nation still recovering from the aftermaths of the violent protest, their cricket team tried to bring some cheers for the fans back home by registering a historic T20I series win over two-time world champions West Indies.

Chatur Bahadur Chand, president of the Cricket Association of Nepal, asserted the upheaval was like a nightmare for the citizens and believed the success by the young Asian cricketing nation will have a soothing effect on them. "It was like a bad dream, a nightmare. The protest led to a big political shift and also impacted training of the cricket team. Fortunately, only a few sessions got cancelled," the chief of the country's cricket body told this daily after Nepal's 2-1 series win over the West Indies on Tuesday.

Chand was all praise for the Indian cricket board (BCCI) saying the team's training in the country ahead of the maiden T20I series against a full member paid rich dividends. "We played the Top End T20 Series in Darwin, Australia against Bangladesh A, Pakistan Shaheens and other Australia sides before having a training camp at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, Bengaluru in August. Then we went on to play against Assam teams in Guwahati. This all prepared the boys well for the upcoming challenge. Really thankful to the BCCI for providing us the opportunities," he said.

Chand hoped the win will shift focus on Nepal cricket team and convince powerhouses like India to play a series against them. "Maybe this win will help us get noticed by the Test playing nations. I just hope the Asian Cricket Council and the world body ICC notice our performance and countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh play bilateral or triangular series against us."

The next target for the CAN is to qualify for the T20 World Cup scheduled in India and Sri Lanka next year. "The team will now depart for Muscat for the 2026 T20 World Cup Qualifiers. "Three places are up for grabs and that is our next goal now. Participation in the marquee event will only help the Nepal cricket grow," he said.

Nepal won the first two matches against the West Indies held in Sharjah on Sunday and Monday respectively. Their 90-run win in the second game was the biggest by runs by an associate nation against a full member in T20Is. The team went on to lose the third and final match by 10 wickets on Tuesday. The West Indies also preferred to give chances to quite a few youngsters for the inaugural bilateral series between the two teams, however, it hardly mattered in the end as the series win added a golden chapter in Nepal's cricketing history.

Chand said they were hosts and had to organise the series in Sharjah due to lack of infrastructure in the country. "Construction of a stadium is underway at the moment in the country. We were the hosts and the series win is like an icing on the cake. Hope it ushers Nepal cricket into a new era," Chand signed off.

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