Nepali cricket team defied all odds to qualify for their first ever ICC Twenty20 World Cup in Bangladesh but they stare at an Herculean effort to even make it to the second round.

Six ICC Associate nations including Nepal have been pooled in two Qualifying Groups, each headed by the bottom two Test-playing nations Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. With only one team from each of the Qualifying Groups to join the top eight Test nations in the second round, it will be a huge ask for Nepal and all the other five Associate teams in the March 16-April 6 tournament.

Nepal’s Sri Lankan-born Canadian coach Pubudu Dassanayake said that his boys are keen to ruffle a few feathers in the World Cup especially to make up for their disappointing performance in the ICC 50-over World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand last month. 

“What happened in New Zealand was not the true picture of our team,” said Dassanayake. “We are better than what the results showed and so our objective in Bangladesh will be to perform better and make up for our disappointing New Zealand experience,” added the Nepal coach. The coach informed that, Canadian trainer Scot Tanger was set to join the Nepal team in Dubai, where they will spend a week before heading for Bangladesh. 

Nepal will play two practice matches against the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on March 6 and 7 in Dubai in a bid to fine tune the team. “Once the trainer (Tanger) joins us in Dubai I’ll be able to increase work load on my players as some of them still carry minor injuries. Paras (Khadka) has not bowled since sustaining side strain in New Zealand and we hope that he will be able to bowl again,” added the former Sri Lankan Test international.  

Meanwhile, Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Development Manager Rumesh Ratnayake said that Nepal’s preparation for Twenty20 World Cup could have been different. Comparing the present preparation with that of their qualifying campaign, when Nepal had brought in fast bowlers from Sri Lanka and a batting coach, Ratnayake said: “Things could have been done better by drafting in a bowling coach and trainer for the Bangladesh event.”

Ratnayake also revealed that the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has assured the ACC on transforming itself after the regional cricket governing body expressed serious concern over the sustainability of cricket in Nepal. “The World T20 is important but even more important is the future of Nepali cricket. We do not want Nepal fade like Kenya and the USA,” added Ratnayake. 

ACC Development Director Bandula Warnapura made a two-day visit to Nepal this week to discuss the issue with CAN and the National Sports Council. “The positive thing is that CAN has agreed to follow our suggestions and we expect significant changes very soon,” said Ratnayake without elaborating the kind of changes he was referring to. He added that Nepal should try to follow in the footsteps of Afghanistan. “Afghanistan did not have cricketing base until a couple of years back but have now established themselves as a very strong cricket team.”