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The national cricket team of Nepal \u00a0\u00a0hopes \u00a0to rebound but faces a daunting challenge \u00a0going into the new season, following a bitterly dismal twelve months of \u00a0competitive cricket.<\/p>\n
It is obvious that unless they overcome mediocrity and turn things around pretty quickly, they are doomed to fail in 2018 . Sorry for being such a pessimist.It is as simple as that.<\/p>\n
The real test awaits Nepal in Namibia as they gear up for the all important ICC World Cricket League B Division. This is one big \u00a0opportunity to salvage some pride, especially after an unproductive \u00a02017.<\/p>\n
Much work remains to be done, and it is a tough road ahead without a doubt. The \u00a0relegation to \u00a0ICC World Cricket League (WCL) Division Two was\/is a crushing blow.<\/p>\n
It is time to stop the slide and get back on the right track. As they say, desperate times call for desperate measures.<\/p>\n
There is plenty at stake in the six team competition.The battle \u00a0is for the final two spots \u00a0for a place in the ICC World Cup \u00a0qualifiers 2018.<\/p>\n
The two top finishers move on to Zimbabwe where they will vie for a spot in the 2019 ICC World Cup in England and Wales.<\/p>\n
Unquestionably, Nepal has \u00a0a steep climb. They face familiar opponents \u00a0in the likes of Namibia, Kenya, Canada, Oman and United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n
They \u00a0will \u00a0have to compete at their very best and need scintillating all round performance.This competition is very tight, \u00a0and \u00a0there is no room for complacency \u00a0or slip ups.<\/p>\n
The fortunes of \u00a0the team will depend a lot on how batsmen perform throughout the competition.They must get together as a batting unit to notch up \u00a0competitive scores.<\/p>\n
Skipper Paras Khadka \u00a0once again \u00a0spearheads an experienced squad packed with all rounders, which includes one debutante, all rounder Rohit Kumar Paudel. Also batsman Anil Kumar Sah looking to find \u00a0a spot in the playing eleven \u00a0has been retained.<\/p>\n
Khadka must lead from the front \u00a0on and off the field and instill in his young mates a renewed confidence, vigor and a sense of purpose.<\/p>\n
The youngsters have a chance to prove themselves yet again. They must step up and live up to the occasion.Batting specialists Dipendra Singh Airee, Aarif Sheikh and Sharad Vesawkar will have to shoulder the middle order batting \u00a0responsibility and hopefully they deliver the goods.Wicket keeper Dilip Nath must make useful contributions to consolidate the batting.<\/p>\n
Likewise, captain Khadka and his deputy Gyanendra Malla cannot afford lackadaisical performance. No doubt, their form will be key to the team\u2019s overall success.<\/p>\n
The bowling department, \u00a0a combination \u00a0of spin and pace, headed by the highly experienced Shakti Gauchan looks solid \u00a0and brimming.<\/p>\n
With sensational Sandeep Lamichhane, Sompal Kami, Basant Regmi and Karan KC \u00a0along side Gauchan, there is less to worry about.<\/p>\n
However, nothing can be taken for granted. What is very important is, giving one hundred percent effort and letting their performance \u00a0speak for themselves.<\/p>\n
Also the fielding has to improve \u00a0to boost the overall performance of the team. Above all, Nepal must get to a winning start against Namibia in the opener to build early momentum.<\/p>\n
I would like to repeat here once again that batting is Nepal\u2019s biggest concern \u00a0and weakness right now. It continues to flop and more so at critical junctures to date. We have witnessed it.<\/p>\n
Apparently, the team does not have a reliable and dependable batting to take on the best.\u00a0 By and large, it badly lacks in depth, stability \u00a0and consistency despite talents.<\/p>\n
The familiar sight has been :regular batting inconsistency and collapses in the recent past. Besides, there has been a lack of \u00a0consistent major contributions from \u00a0specialist batsmen, be it top-order or middle -order<\/p>\n
It is increasingly looking more and more though players are not learning from mistakes and paying the price ultimately .This has to change now.<\/p>\n
Having a positive attitude and having the ability to learn from past mistakes are a must , as it helps enhance individual and team performance and get better results.<\/p>\n
The coaching staff role is equally crucial and important when it comes to identifying \u00a0and addressing the batting fragility that has cost the team \u00a0a \u00a0mind boggling number of \u00a0winnable ties in international competitions over the years.<\/p>\n
Short term measures like rectifying \u00a0and altering batsmen \u00a0approach, techniques and temperaments have not worked.<\/p>\n
I am of the opinion that players need adequate international exposure,more opportunities to bat on lively and productive fast pitches and long term batting camps.<\/p>\n
With domestic cricket in shambles and Cricket Association of \u00a0Nepal (CAN) mired in unending controversies and scandals, cricket development and progress has been severely impeded for far too long.<\/p>\n
Despite everything, cricket has survived to date, largely because of cricketers unprecedented passion for the sport,pursuit of greatness and burning desire to earn recognition and glory for the country internationally.<\/p>\n
Whatever Nepal cricket has achieved, small and big,is solely because of cricketers\u2019 sacrifice,dogged determination and sheer talent.<\/p>\n
The recruitment of \u00a0youngster Sandeep Lamichhane by Delhi Daredevils for the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) is a groundbreaking achievement in the annals of Nepal cricket.This has opened the floodgates to other talents in the country,and I bet they \u00a0will be closely watched by \u00a0scouts of IPL teams.<\/p>\n
Lamichhane \u2018s historical breakthrough is a testament \u00a0to the wealth of talents we have. That said, admittedly, Nepal cricket is far worse off than imaginable.<\/p>\n
What is so true is that the landscape of Nepal cricket must drastically change for good \u00a0in terms of leadership, governance and management for the betterment and upliftment.<\/p>\n
Else, cricket moving in the right direction is absolutely out if question .Furthermore, cricketers plight will continue unabated and talents like Lamichhane will go to waste.<\/p>\n
The national cricket team of Nepal \u00a0\u00a0hopes \u00a0to rebound but faces a daunting challenge \u00a0going into the new season, following a bitterly dismal twelve months of \u00a0competitive cricket. It is obvious that unless they overcome mediocrity and turn things around pretty quickly, they are doomed to fail in 2018 . Sorry for being such a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nepalipost.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nepalipost.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nepalipost.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nepalipost.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nepalipost.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/nepalipost.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101,"href":"http:\/\/nepalipost.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93\/revisions\/101"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nepalipost.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nepalipost.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nepalipost.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nepalipost.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}