(From left) Former national cricket team skippers LB Chhetri, RajuKhadka, PawanAgrawal and Binod Das with CPAN President Manish Raj Pandey (fourth from left) and General Secretary ParasKhadka (right) at a press meet on Sunday. Photo: THT
Kathmandu, March 25
Former captains of Nepal national teams urged the stakeholders to come to a common platform and leave aside their egos to bring stability in cricket and take full benefit out of the One Day International status.
Nepal earned the ODI status earlier this month when the national team, led by Paras Khadka, finished eighth in the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe. At a time when the Cricket Association of Nepal is suspended by the International Cricket Council, former captains — who were gathered here to attend the elective general assembly of Cricket Players Association of Nepal — feared the hard-earned achievement would go in vain like the T20 International status four years ago in the absence of the cricket governing body.
Former skipper LB Chhetri said they were forced to speak due to the unfavourable situation of Nepali cricket. “We are afraid that the ODI status, which came because of the hard works put in by the players, might be wasted like the previous achievements,” said Chhetri. “Like in the past, we cannot afford to lose this achievement. We need to develop cricket as an industry to make the ODI status count,” he added.
Immediate Past President of CPAN PawanAgrawal urged the government to step up and play active role. “If we cannot grab this opportunity properly, it will be like the T20I status. The government should play an active role and I urge all the stakeholders to be serious as we cannot utilise the ODI status properly in the absence of governing body,” said Agrawal.
Another former skipper RajuKhadka said the past and recent achievements were the outcome of the players and teams. “The rest of the world knew Nepal because of Gautam Buddha and Mt Everest in the past. Now Cricket has become the third reason and we should not waste time to cash in on this opportunity,” said Khadka. “The stakeholders of cricket should forget all the bad memories of the past and move ahead as we need a strong CAN to take benefit out of the ODI status,” he added.
Former captain and currently U-19 team head coach Binod Das said reinstatement of CAN was the burning issue of the hour. “We have reached to a point from where we cannot move forward without the governing body,” said Das. “The players have always been in the losing end in Nepali cricket. We put in our fruitful period of life into cricket and when it comes to get the return, nothing is there,” he added.
Das also said that Nepali cricket was full of competent people and they were always neglected. “It’s not that we don’t have good leaders with us. There are so many people around us who can successfully lead cricket but they are always ignored,” said Das, who sarcastically asked the stakeholders to change their mindset. “Once you fail, you need to take tuition and it’s high time to take tuition.”
Current national team skipper and General Secretary of CPAN, ParasKhadka was straightforward in asking the stakeholders to prioritize cricket and create a platform for next stage. “We have earned the ODI status which is the best opportunity to move forward and become a Test-playing nation in 8-10 years,” he said. “We have heard a lot of plans regarding the development of cricket from many officials, but the stability in cricket is the need of the hour. If we do not act now, it will be really difficult to reach the summit.”
In a press release undersigned by four former skippers Chhetri, Agrawal, Khadka and Das, along with current captain Khadka and CPAN President Manish Raj Pandey, the players association said: “On the background of ODI status, we feel that we cannot afford to lose this opportunity and strongly urge all to feel the urgency of the situation and sort out the current situation. We, as CPAN, will have to expand its role in case the current problem of governing body is not solved immediately.”
Asked whether the CPAN was planning to take over, Agrawal said the matter was discussed in the AGM but nothing was decided. “We discussed about the issue among us as we cannot stay as a mute spectator if nothing happens,” said Agrawal. “We do not have place to go or knock the door but we are ready to help the government in formulating long term plans for the overall development of cricket. If the situations remains the same for a long time, we will sit together and decide further steps.”
A version of this article appears in print on March 26, 2018 of The Himalayan Times.