How did you get started as a cricket-writer? “When I was in the Nepal National Daily working as an intern in 2000, Nepal was participating in the U/19 World Cup in Sri Lanka and there was a match against India. It was to be broadcast on Star Sports but the venue was changed at the last minute because of rain. So when they changed the venue the match was not telecast because the cameras weren’t there but the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) sent out a press release saying that the match was cancelled. I was following it on Cricinfo however, and I knew the match happened). The next day my newspaper carried the match report with the scorecard while all other national newspapers, radio and television stated that the match had been cancelled.” “I wanted to look for information on the past ACC Trophys then and so when I went onto the internet and could hardly find anything. It was then I decided to start a website on Nepal cricket and in the end of 2000 I began developing the website. For nearly a year and a half I played around with the content and design and in July 2002, I formally announced the website. Since then I’ve been hooked to cricket. “ Photo: Peter Lim Nepal’s cricketers have enjoyed a great deal of success in recent years How many hits does your website get? “If there is a tournament then there are a lot of visitors to the website but when there is no tournament, things slow down. One thing I have maintained from the beginning is that nepalcricket would carry news on only Nepalese cricket. I wanted to focus only on Nepal cricket and not other countries and this was because of my time constraints.” “I think the US tops the list but most of the visitors are Nepalese because there is not much to interest the foreigners. I also run a Nepal cricket fan club which has close to 600 members. Some people registered a fan club and wanted me to be the president to which I refused. I told them that I would gladly run the website but since it was their idea I asked them to go ahead with it.” “I have been very fortunate because I have a friend who is into the business of web designing and so he has donated me the name and space. Google Ads sends a cheque every few months which pays for a few things but I really don’t have to pay for anything. That is how it runs. I devote my time for the cricket lovers. Back when you started, did you ever think cricket would grow to such levels of popularity as it is now in Nepal? “Cricket is the most popular sport in the country now, taking over football. The whole country is crazy for cricket. Even in the mountains they play the game (eg.Cricket in Baglung).” How has cricket become so popular in Nepal? “There are a few things to consider when you talk about cricket in Nepal. Cricket and football are equally popular here and I think cricket is popular because it is an interesting game. Unlike football, where the stronger team will almost always win, cricket is more unpredictable. Cricket was always played in the Tarai belt (the southern part of Nepal, on the plains). They have played for a long time because of their close proximity to India. They used to have tournaments almost 20-25 years ago where they had A to D division games. Although it was not managed well, they were still playing. I always say that 1996 was a critical year for Nepalese cricket. Three things happened then: Nepal got the Associate membership of the ICC which means they became a Full ACC member; Nepal went to Malaysia to participate in the first ACC Trophy, it was Nepal’s first international tournament; it was the same time the World Cup was going on.” “In 1996 there was a boom for cable TV and pay channels in Kathmandu. The matches were all shown live and people were talking about cricket. After our democracy there were a lot more private newspapers and suddenly cricket became one of the fastest growing sports. It was a very critical period for Nepal and from there on there was no stopping cricket and the interest is ongoing because the national team are doing well in international tournaments unlike in football. Currently we’re in the top 30 in the world cricket rankings but in football we’re close to 150 and in football it’s hard to play and win against India or Sri Lanka or even Maldives. This is why there is such a following of cricket because we are defeating countries like USA and Malaysia; countries that have a stronger economy than Nepal.” Do you think that generation of cricketers who you saw as U-19s in 2000 has reached its peak or can they get even better? “I think they can get better. I really don’t think they are at their peak. I think the lack of returns from the game affects the players because a lot of them drop out when they reach the senior level. Some of the best bowlers and batsmen who have been in the teams have just suddenly stopped playing because of this. When you are in college you play the game for the passion but when you are out of college you need to think of a career. There are a few players who go to schools and colleges and earn money by coaching the children but this does not happen to everyone.” Our basics are strong. “Ever since Roy Dias began coaching Nepal he has done one very good thing – he has made players stick to the basics. He doesn’t want players to go for huge shots unnecessarily. But when Nepal faces a team of hard-hitting batsmen then they face a problem. If you look at Nepal’s matches, they are able to dismiss the top five or six batsmen very early but when the tail-enders come in and swing wildly, the bowlers don’t have any answers. Our basics are strong but in this position we don’t know what to do. There are people who criticize Dias’ style and ask him to let the batsmen play free shots, but I agree with Roy’s method. If the batsmen hit out we may be able to defeat UAE or Afghanistan once or twice but to perform well you need that certain level of discipline and I like that in the team.” National Coach and Captain - Roy Dias and Binod Kumar Das “We also do not have enough domestic cricket. For example, (Nepal’s captain) Binod Das’s first three-day game was an international. He had never played a three-day game until he played at an ACC tournament. Even now most domestic games are 40-over matches and so to play a 50-over match, the players are not used to it. When you play enough cricket at home you will learn a lot more.” “A few players are in academies – apart from that every player comes raw into the team. There were dropped return catches in this tournament and this is basics especially for the spinners. If the players are given a good cricketing foundation then things like fielding will not be a problem. We cannot change a player in just one month. Nepal always plays better as the tournament goes on and this is because they are learning as they play. If we can do more work and training off the field, Nepal can be much better than they already are.”
Posted on: Mon, 24 Mar 2014 20:43:08 +0000
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