November was a bittersweet month for Nepali cricket. On November 11, the Mulpani Cricket Ground saw its first ever competitive match. The exhibition game at the makeshift ground at the Valley’s rim was important not just because Nepal now has another venue to field matches in, but also because it was a culmination of a dream that has been 15 years in the making. The project might have for long been a source of frustration of cricketers and fans alike but finally there is hope that things may finally be clicked into gear. Mulpani, after all, is supposed to be the new Mecca of Nepali cricket—its very own MCG.

A day later, on November 12, the Nepali U-19 side went on to file a historic win over Test giant India’s youth team, adding to an already impressive list of scalps over cricketing heavyweights like Pakistan, South Africa, New Zealand, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. The 19-run victory naturally sent the nation into a frenzy. The celebrations were further buoyed by the fact that the win would secure Nepal its maiden semi-final spot in an international competition. Nepal would ultimately lose that match against long-time rivals Afghanistan but regardless, the young colts’ unprecedented run at the Asia Cup in Malaysia laid down a new benchmark for the country’s age-group cricket.

The victory was particularly poignant for the U-19 coach Binod Das. Fifteen years ago, it was under Binod Das’ captaincy that Nepal announced itself to the cricketing world at the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand (2002). In a tournament that would establish Nepal’s reputation as ‘giant killers’ in age-group cricket, Das and his teammates pulled the upset of the tournament by beating Pakistan by 30 runs, before giving England a run for their money as well. They would eventually finish runners up in the Plate Championship, losing out to Zimbabwe, but the fairy tale run helped cricket explode into the Nepali imagination, making youngsters Das, Shakti Gauchan, Basanta Regmi, Kanishka Chaulagain, and Sanjam Regmi household names.

Those were heady days for Nepali cricket. Following their stunning victory over Pakistan, the International Cricket Council (ICC) proposed the establishment of a Global Cricket Academy in Nepal. The picturesque Mulpani, a suburb of Kathmandu, was identified as the location where the Academy would be built. The facility would not only allow Nepali youngsters to rub shoulders with the brightest talents from around the world, it would also give the country a much-needed infrastructural upgrade that would ensure young Nepali players like Das would go on to fulfill their true potential.

Those dreams, however, never materialised. While Binod Das and his teammates eventually went on to form the core of the national side over the next decade, they were never able to replicate their heroics at the senior level. At the time, as the Maoist insurgency peaked, the Mulpani project sputtered and stalled as well, eventually leading ICC to move the academy to Dubai instead. The facility in the Emirates today boasts two full-size cricket ovals with floodlights, seven synthetic and three hybrid pitches, an indoor cricket centre that includes six practice pitches, Hawk-eye tracking and video analysis systems and a state-of-the-art pavilion for players, officials and the media. In addition to drawing youngsters from around the world, the facility also regularly hosts international matches as a neutral venue. 3

While Nepal’s dream of hosting such a prestigious Academy failed, ICC eventually proposed the construction of an ACC (Asian Cricket Council) Regional Cricket Academy at the same Mulpani location. But due to the infighting within the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), that plan too died in its infancy.

Again, in 2009, Nepal attempted to seize the initiative on the project with the government and ACC injecting millions of Rupees into the ground—now just the Mulpani Cricket Academy. However, scant progress has been made in the eight years since. Work at Mulpani has remained snail-paced; the recent debut match at the grounds made possible only through the personal efforts of national cricketers and the game’s other stakeholders.

Nepal could have, should have become a cricketing powerhouse by now. Instead, it continues to just remain the perennial ‘dark horses’ at age-group cricket. Young players—like Binod Das, Shakti Gauchan, Paras Khadka, Gyanendra Malla, and now Dipendra Airee and Sandeep Lamichhane—burst onto the cricketing scene in youth tournaments but their talent eventually plateau for want of proper grooming. In the 15 years that the project at Mulpani struggled to get off the ground, an entire ‘golden generation’ of Nepali cricket has come and gone. Binod Das, the once celebrated U-19 captain, is now the U-19 coach. His teammates from that historic victory over Pakistan, like Shakti Gauchan, are in the twilight of their playing careers.

An insult to injury, however, is the fact that the cricket’s governing body has still not learned from past shortcomings, with the team that pulled off the recent stunner against India most likely doomed to the same fate as the team that defeated Pakistan in 2002.

Speaking soon after Nepal’s November 12 victory, national team skipper Paras Khadka was quick to reiterate that results at the youth level will mean nothing unless they carry over at the senior level. “We have to look at the bigger picture,” he said, “A lot of the players from this U-19 squad don’t know what is in store for them. After this tournament, the junior boys will not be able to play another competitive tournament for the next 18 months. We have to cash in on these achievements and provide them the grooming they need.” And proper grooming, Khadka adds, can only come when proper infrastructure is in place.

The victory over India was hailed as a historic moment for Nepali cricket, with the country’s top politicians, including Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, joining the chorus on social media to fete the U-19 squad. The bitter irony is the fact that Nepal’s youth cricketers have been here before. But unlike their counterparts from around the world who went on to capitalise on their potential, age-group heroics remain the zenith of Nepal’s cricketing achievements.