The Nepali women's cricket team had started a new chapter by qualifying for the Asia qualifiers of the T20 World Cup. Now the same team faces the challenge of entering the next chapter.
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| photo: Indu Barma/facebook |
The achievement achieved by the team, which is a mix of experienced players Rubina Shretri and Indu Verma, along with young players, created an opportunity for Nepal to create another new history, and the challenge of playing against an even stronger team was added.
The most senior player, Sita Rana Magar, who missed the Asia qualifiers last time, has returned to the team for the global qualifiers. That will give more energy to the team, and with the performances of the young players and the home field, the women's team will be on a journey to create another history.
With the U-19 women's team having already played in the World Cup, there will be pressure on the senior team to achieve the same feat. Pooja Mahato, who led Nepal in the World Cup, is also on the path to playing the World Cup with the senior team.
The global qualifiers starting next week are the final step towards playing the Women's T-20 World Cup, and the top 4 teams that perform best from here will make it to the Women's T-20 World Cup.
Nepal's final 15-member squad has also been announced for the tournament under the captaincy of Indu Burma.
The Nepali team, which has qualified for the global qualifiers for the first time after passing the Asian stage qualifiers, is now aiming to play the World Cup for the first time. But this journey will not be easy.
Nepal will have to compete with teams ranked higher than them in the group stage. Some of them have also played in the World Cup.
The main goal of the Nepali team now is to play the World Cup. The Nepali team has been preparing for this for a long time.
Captain Indu Verma has said that the opposition will be strong in any competition and the team that performs well during the match will be sure to win. ‘Opposition teams are good, it is also important how we perform on the day of the match. We should give our best,’ she said.
New coach, excited players
Harshal Jayant Pathak was appointed as the head coach of the Nepali women’s team before this qualifying tournament. Harshal was previously the coach of the Thailand women’s team. Under his coaching, Thailand played the Women’s T20 World Cup for the first time.
Pathak’s goal will be to get Nepal selected in the World Cup for the first time. He has already said that Nepal is optimistic about being selected in the World Cup.
The players have also been enthusiastic about Harshal’s training. Captain Indu Verma said that Pathak’s appointment is a positive aspect.
‘His appointment is a very good aspect for us. It is up to us to play. I think there will be some plus points when we can work on their skills,’ Indu said.
Vice-captain Pooja Mahato also expressed her confidence that she will take Nepal to the World Cup like Thailand.
Will new history be made?
The Nepali women's cricket team had started a new chapter by passing the Asia qualifiers for the T20 World Cup. Now the same team faces the challenge of entering the next chapter.
If they can pass the group stage of the global qualifiers, reach the Super Six and from there make it to the top 4, the senior women's cricket team will play the World Cup for the first time. This will be the biggest achievement in women's cricket.
Nepal will have to overcome the challenge of a team that has already played the World Cup since becoming a Test nation. To advance beyond the group stage, Nepal will have to play better cricket than it is currently playing.
Nepali women's team's first captain Neri Thapa says that the current team is playing well and is making a claim to play the World Cup.
'Even though we did not get a chance, the current team has got a chance. The team is also playing well. If they can play better, they can reach the World Cup,' Thapa said. 'A team that reaches the World Cup qualifiers is definitely good. We have to work harder than in the previous tournament.’
The Nepali team has a chance to make history on home soil. Thapa also said that it is fortunate to be playing on home soil. ‘We have not been able to play on home soil for a long time. The current team has the privilege of playing in a big tournament. I am happy about that,’ she said.
Pooja Mahato, who captained the U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup, is the vice-captain of the senior team. Along with her experience playing in the World Cup, her own ability will also be important in the upcoming tournament.
Hopes for improvement in batting, concerns about bowling are the same
The Nepali team has been practicing and training for the global selection to be held on home soil for some time. The Nepali team, which started with fitness-focused training, then trained on batting, bowling and fielding aspects and also played practice matches with some teams.
The performance in the practice matches has shown signs of improvement in the Nepali team’s batting. Now it will have to continue this in the main tournament as well.
Nepal played two practice matches against the United States and one against Scotland. Nepal's batting was strong in all three matches.
The Nepali team, which had achieved a target of 139 runs in the first practice match against the US, had scored 156 runs in reply to the target of 184 runs in the match against Scotland. In the next practice match against the US, Nepal had achieved a target of 157 runs.
Former captain and senior player of the team Rubina Chhetri said that she is feeling more comfortable in batting than before. ‘It feels a little easier than before, we are trying to improve. We need to do better than this,’ said Rubina.
However, the Nepali team has also lost runs. Although there has been improvement in fielding, there is still room for improvement. Former captain Thapa also pointed out that while the batting is good, there is a bit of a lag in bowling and fielding.
‘Ours is that even when the batters are good, there is a bit of a lag in bowling and the fielding is slow. We should pay attention to that. The fielders are not bad, everyone is good in their place. Ali should be 100 percent plus, so that there is a chance to play in the World Cup,' said Thapa.
Inspiration for the coming generation
Nepal's U-19 women's team played the World Cup last year. Now the senior team is also on the last step of playing the World Cup. Crossing this step will be an achievement for women's cricket and will also be an inspiration for the players of the coming generation.
Similarly, Nepal is also co-organizing the Women's T20 World Cup to be held in 2027. Former captain Thapa also said that these things will inspire the players of the new generation a lot.
'It is very different when we played before and now. Before we played U-19, we played senior. It was good before too,' she said, 'Now the U-19 team is also getting to play in the World Cup. Being on the home field also gives the Nepali team a plus point. It is also a matter of happiness that there are more achievements now than before.'
'It motivates the coming generation, because such a big game is going to be held in Nepal. "They are also happy with the number of new players. It is good to have these kinds of competitions on home ground," she said.
The Nepali team will also play two warm-up matches before the main match of the qualifying tournament. After the warm-up matches with Ireland and the USA, Nepal will play Thailand, the Netherlands, Scotland and Zimbabwe in the group stage.
After finishing top 3 in the group stage, Nepal will compete with 3 teams from another group in the Super Six. If Nepal can finish in the top 4 in the Super Six, it will qualify for the World Cup.
The top 4 teams from this tournament will make it to the Women's T20 World Cup to be held in England and Wales this year. Three Test nations - Zimbabwe, Ireland and Bangladesh - are also playing in the tournament.
Apart from these, Nepal, Scotland, Namibia, USA, PNG, Netherlands and Thailand are the associate nations. Nepal is in Group 'B' with Scotland, Netherlands, Thailand and Zimbabwe.
All four teams are ranked higher than Nepal in the T20I rankings. Nepal is ranked 21st, while the other teams are ranked higher than Nepal.
Nepal has already played Thailand and the Netherlands. Scotland and Zimbabwe will meet for the first time in international cricket.
Harshal Jayant Pathak was appointed as the head coach of the women's team before this tournament. Coach Pathak has said that he is optimistic that the Nepali team will qualify for the World Cup.
'I am positive that we can qualify. There are challenges, but this team also has the potential. The players are very eager to do well. They can fit into the team's plan,' Pathak said. 'I see a good possibility of selection. It is also on the home field.'
Captain Indu Verma also said that she has prepared well with the goal of qualifying. 'We are preparing well. No matter who the opponent is, we have the feeling that we have to do well on the match day. We have to do well on our part,' she said.
Nepali women's team will compete against in the World Cup Global Qualifiers.
Thailand
Thailand is a familiar rival for the Nepali women's cricket team. Nepal has played Thailand 7 times in the Women's T20I so far. Nepal has been defeated in all 7 matches.
Thailand has already played the Women's T20I World Cup. Thailand, which played in the T20I World Cup in Australia in 2020, could not advance beyond the group stage.
Similarly, Thailand has also played the Women's Asia Cup in 2012, 2016, 2018, 2022 and 2024. Thailand defeated Pakistan in the 2022 Asia Cup and reached the semi-finals.
Thailand is ranked 12th in the ICC Women's T20I rankings. The Nepali women's team last played against Thailand in the Super Three of the World Cup Asia Qualifiers, where Nepal was defeated.
Nepal and Thailand reached the Global Qualifiers after passing that qualifier.
Scotland
The Scotland women's team is the highest-ranked team among the associate teams. Scotland is ranked 11th in the women's T20I rankings.
Scotland has also played in the T20 World Cup once. The last edition was played by Scotland in the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup in the UAE. It did not advance beyond the group stage. Scotland is going to play the global qualifiers directly on the basis of that World Cup.
Scotland has played 73 T20I matches so far, winning 43 matches and losing 29 matches, leaving 1 match without a result.
Nepal has not played Scotland in T20Is so far. They did play a practice match on Friday, where they lost by 27 runs.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is ranked 14th in the women's T20 rankings. The Netherlands women's team has played 4 ODI World Cups, but has not played the T20 World Cup yet.
The Netherlands entered the global qualifiers as the runners-up of the European Qualifiers Division One. Winner Ireland is in the other group.
The Netherlands women's team has played 99 T20 matches so far. Out of them, they have won 46 matches and lost 47 matches. There have been 2 draws and 4 matches without a result.
Talking about head-to-head, Nepal has lost all 3 matches they have played against the Netherlands. Nepal played the first time against the Netherlands in the tri-nation series held in Nepal in January-February last year.
The Netherlands has also defeated Test nation Zimbabwe once.
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is ranked 15th in the ICC Women's T20I rankings. Zimbabwe has also not played the T20 World Cup yet. Zimbabwe qualified for the global qualifiers by qualifying through the African qualifiers.
The Zimbabwe women's team has played 82 T20I matches, winning 55 matches and losing 26 matches. One match has been drawn.
Nepal has not played Zimbabwe so far. The practice match was scheduled for Sunday, but the match could not take place as the Zimbabwe team did not arrive in Nepal.
Zimbabwe won the gold medal in cricket at the 2023 African Games.
If Nepal advances beyond the group stage, it will have to play teams from another group. Group ‘A’ includes Bangladesh, Ireland, Papua New Guinea, the United States and Namibia.
Nepal has only played Bangladesh and Namibia among these teams. Nepal lost its only match against Bangladesh in Pokhara in 2019.
Nepal played Namibia in a series in Uganda. Nepal lost in both matches there.
Nepal will play a warm-up match against Ireland before the qualifiers. However, it will not be internationally recognized. Ireland has played the Women’s T20 World Cup four times so far.
Similarly, Bangladesh has played every edition of the T20 World Cup since 2014. The United States has not played the T20 World Cup yet.
Nepal's games
January 14: Warm-up match with Ireland
January 16: Warm-up match with USA
January 18: Group stage match with Thailand
January 22: Group stage match with Netherlands
January 24: Group stage match with Zimbabwe
January 26: Group stage match with Scotland
