Nepal captain Rohit Paudel said that his side have “nothing to lose” in next month’s T20 World Cup as they target more famous upsets and a place in the tournament’s Super Eight second phase.
The Himalayan nation stunned two-time T20 World Cup winners the West Indies last year for their first series win over a Test-playing side in the shortest format.
It gave them huge belief ahead of the 20-team event scheduled to start on Feb. 7 in India and Sri Lanka that they can repeat the feat and take down one of the cricketing powers.
Photo: AFP
Nepal face the West Indies again in Group C alongside fellow two-time champions England and debutants Italy. Bangladesh, who are refusing to play in India, were also drawn in the group, but look likely to be kicked out and replaced by Scotland.
Paudel and his team are in Colombo, practicing ahead of their opener against England on Feb. 8 at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
“As a team, we have everything to gain from here,” said Paudel, who at 23 is the youngest captain at the event. “Nothing to lose, and we can play freely. We will try to showcase our skills in front of the world.”
Photo: AFP
The 17th-ranked Nepal do not have any group matches in Sri Lanka, but it is a sign of their confidence that they opted to train in Colombo as preparations for the subsequent Super Eight round, where they would play in Sri Lanka if they qualify as one of the top two in the group.
“Realistically, I think beating a Test-playing country would be a great opportunity for all of us,” Paudel said “Reaching the Super Eight would be another one, so we are eyeing that spot, but the first aim is to play the best brand of cricket we know. And we will try to do that.”
Cricket does not enjoy the same adulation in Nepal as it does in neighboring South Asian nations, where the game dominates popular culture.
However, interest has surged over the past decade.
Nepal made their T20 World Cup debut in 2014 and returned in 2024, pushing South Africa and Bangladesh close in narrow defeats.
The International Cricket Council granted Nepal one-day international status in 2018, a milestone that helped accelerate investment and fan interest.
Domestic competitions such as the Nepal Premier League have drawn growing crowds and commercial backing, further widening the talent pipeline.
Team manager Prabal Gautam said training in the Sri Lankan capital was to help players adapt from the cool Himalayan climate to the heat and humidity further south.
Players initially struggled with temperatures above 30°C in Colombo, Gautam said, but were gradually acclimatizing.
“This is the first step of practice matches before the World Cup, just to cope with the weather and to play quality cricket,” he said.
The squad plan further sessions in Mumbai before their group matches tournament and fancy their chances of going further.
“Being a small nation, being a small cricketing team, we also have a dream of winning the World Cup,” Gautam said, adding that dreams can come true. “First we had a dream of playing in a World Cup. Now this is our third time at a World Cup.”
NO HARD FEELINGS: Taiwan’s Lin Hsiang-ti and Indonesia’s Dhinda Amartya Pratiwi embraced after fighting to a tense and rare 30-29 final game in their Uber Cup match The Taiwanese men’s team on Wednesday fought back from the brink of elimination to defeat Denmark in Group C and advance to the quarter-finals of the Thomas Cup, while the women’s team were to face South Korea after press time last night in the Uber Cup quarter-finals in Horsens, Denmark. In the first match, Taiwan’s top shuttler Chou Tien-chen faced a familiar opponent in world No. 3 Anders Antonsen. It was their 16th head-to-head matchup, with the Dane taking his fourth victory in a row against former world No. 2 Chou, winning 21-14, 13-21, 21-15 in 1 hour, 22 minutes. The
Marta Kostyuk’s maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid came on Saturday thanks to her power, poise and a pair of unexpected lucky shorts. The world No. 23 beat eighth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in under 90 minutes to secure the most prestigious trophy of her career, her third professional singles title and second in less than a month after Rouen. Yet as the 23-year-old Ukrainian posed for photographs at the Caja Magica, it was not just the silverware that caught the eye. Held alongside her team and her two dogs, Kostyuk showed off a piece of black men’s underwear, prompting
Throwing more than US$5 billion at a divisive new tour and walking away after five seasons does not look like good business, but LIV Golf was not all bad news for Saudi Arabia. Oil-funded LIV, which poached top stars and sent golf’s establishment into a tailspin, helped push the conservative kingdom into global view — one of its key aims, experts said. The exit, confirmed on Thursday after weeks of speculation, does not signal a flight of Saudi money from sport, even after the Middle East war that sparked Iranian attacks around the Gulf, they said. “Saudi Arabia is not
Anastasia Potapova on Wednesday turned tennis heartbreak into history by becoming the first lucky loser to reach a WTA 1000 semi-final with her thrilling 6-1, 6-7 (4/7), 6-3 victory over Karolina Pliskova at the Madrid Open, as Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei exited in the women’s doubles quarter-finals. The Russian-born Austrian, who lost in qualifying last week, has capitalized on her unexpected main draw entry and stunned former world No. 1 Pliskova in a roller-coaster clash despite squandering three match points. Potapova’s run has included impressive victories over former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko and world No. 2 Elena Rybakina. Asked if she had thought
RSS