Sports
CAN adds two-day cricket to its calender
The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) added two-day cricket tournament to its annual calendar that was launched on Friday.The two-day tournament, named Prime Minister’s Cup, will be organised in an assistance from the government and will be played in May in four venues. A Twenty20 Women’s National Tournament has also been added to the calendar. Government will provide Rs 6 million to organise the two tournaments.
Outlining its plans following a two-day board meeting, CAN had decided to provide Rs 500,000 to each of the nine cricket regions with Rs 100,000 allotted for a construction of academy. The cricket governing body has also hired Raman Shiwakoti as the national team’s technical analyst for one year, while it has also moved forward in hiring a regular physio and physical trainer.
CAN member Arun Satyal has been given the responsibility to make preparations for the retirement of former national team skipper Binod Das. The fast bowling allrounder has not appeared for Nepal since 2012 but has not yet announced his retirement. An increment of Rs 200 has also been given to cricketers as daily allowance during the national tournaments. CAN has been giving Rs 500 per day to cricketers.
The cricket governing body has announced a budget of Rs 144.1 million for the new fiscal year. A majority of CAN’s budget is covered by the funding from the International Cricket Council and Asian Cricket Council. CAN is set to receive $480,000 as Global Direct Funding and $225,000 as High Performance Grant from the ICC, while the ACC will provide $146,250 annual grant.
The meeting also decided to procure experts from India for a curator course in Nepal, while Narayan Bahadur Karki, Ajay Pandey and Madhu Tamang have been approved for a three-month curator course to be held in Sri Lanka. Curator Prafulla Sagar Vaidya has been given the responsibility to look after the pitch at the Mulpani Stadium.
Meanwhile, Nepal’s opening tie of the ICC World Cricket League Championship (WCL) has been confirmed for June 10 and 12. Nepal qualified for the WCL after finishing fourth in the WCL Division-II in January. The ICC had announced the schedule for WCL one month earlier without finalising the dates for the opening round. Nepal will also play United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, the Netherlands, Namibia and Kenya in the WCL that runs till 2017.
The opening encounter of the WCL has fixed Nepal two visits to Britain. After their return from Scotland, Nepal will once again return there for the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers. CAN Acting General Secretary Uttam Karmacharya said Nepal will set a preparation camp in England for the Qualifiers. CAN will hire specialized coaches from England to prepare for the Qualifiers.
NPL runs into controversy
The Nepal Premier League (NPL) has run again yet another controversy after the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) denied the existence of any such tournament. CAN, instead, said it will organise NPL on its own next year.
“The Asian Cricket Council and International Cricket Council have directed the countries’ home board to organise the Premier League on their own. We couldn’t do it this year due to time and budget constraints but we will organise it next year,” said Deepak Koirala, acting CAN President.
Zohra Sports Management (ZSM) has been preparing to hold the Twenty20 edition of the NPL under new sponsors with the event scheduled for March 26-April 4. “We heard some other company is doing it but we have no official knowledge about it. We will not support to any such event if organised as NPL. If the name is changed, we will think about it,” added Koirala. ZSM organised the 50-over cricket under the NPL last year in Dhangadi but only after CAN’s unwillingness to organise it.