CHENNAI: For a country located along the side of the Himalayas, the love Nepal shares for cricket could challenge the mighty mountain ranges. The country may be spread across some 1,47,516 sq. km, but it would not be an understatement to say the collective passion the fans share could compete with the four major Asian cricketing countries — India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In short, the love and passion they share is similar to the cricketing powerhouse in the sub-continent.
Rain or shine, they will turn up with umbrellas in thousands to watch their team train and play in Deukhuri International Cricket Stadium, Lamahi, Dang. They also travel and support and cheer their team wherever they go. There is a reason why their captain Rohit Paudel calls them their "12th man".
When they made their World Cup debut in the USA and West Indies two years ago, Nepal lived a dream. The results did not come, but they got a taste of the big stage with their fans cheering for them in Dallas. And it was something they wanted to experience again. Nepal are warming up for the T20 World Cup here in Chennai. They beat the United Arab Emirates in the first warm-up, taking some confidence going into the tournament. What will also give them confidence is the fact that they have beaten West Indies last year.
Rohit believes they have shown consistency over last three years when they played the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka. He feels it is time for them to show their ability at the biggest stage. "We played a lot of matches against Test playing countries. I think as a group, we have that experience and exposure. It is the time to showcase our skills in front of the world," he told reporters on Tuesday.
A massive celebrity back home, the skipper strongly believes the support of the fans will make a difference. He expects the local Nepalese population to paint the stands across India as well. "Wherever we go and play a match, they come and support us. Last year, we were playing in Australia in Darwin. They came there also to support us. When we came here for the World Cup prep last year, a lot of Nepalese people who were staying here came and supported us. They want us as a team to come and have lunch, dinner, whatever they can afford. They treat us like home. In the 2024 WC, the crowd was packed in Dallas Stadium in the USA. I believe Mumbai is much closer than the USA," Rohit said.
On the cricketing front, they have the challenge cut out. Nepal are in the same group as England, West Indies, Italy, and Scotland and will play all four matches at Wankhede. In Mumbai, the pacers will have some help but predominantly matches are expected to be high-scoring. Their head coach Stuart Law, who took over from Monty Desai, believes their batters have the T20 game to succeed. "Our players do possess a wide range of shots in their armoury. We didn't need to do it against UAE," Law said after the warm-up match when asked about using 360 degree shots. "You play those shots as and when you really need them. You don't just play them because you have got them in the locker. You actually work out the game and I had a good chat with Aarif Sheikh at the 14-over mark. And they said, we just need one over where we can get 15 and they just played proper cricket shots," he added.
For him, the focus will be on getting the nuances right. "These guys probably play some tougher tournaments than what the main teams play. Some of the qualifying tournaments are brutal. These guys are battle-hardened in that arena. Yes, it's a step up, going to a World Cup and playing against two-time world champions England in the first game. But, these guys are pretty good cricketers. On Tuesday I saw a lot of intelligence in their batting in that last partnership. That's something that we're trying to implement into our team. The little bits that come in are very, very good to see. We just need to see more and more of it," he said, before adding, "Our goal is to not just be one of the teams that turn up and play. Our goal is to play the best cricket we can play with every opportunity. We are aggressive in the way we think. There's a difference between aggression and recklessness. We were aggressive on Tuesday. I think there are times when we could have been even more aggressive. When you're aggressive, everything seems to work better. You make better choices on the field. Your footwork goes better. Your ball contact is much better. You attack the ball on the field. So, we can get better at those aspects as well."
