Gyanendra Malla ( ne, ज्ञानेन्द्र मल्‍ल; born 16 September 1990) is a Nepalese professional

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er and the former captain of the Nepal national Team. He is a right-handed

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball, ball with a cricket bat, bat to score runs (cricket), runs and prevent the dismissal (cricket), loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since Septembe ...

and an occasional

wicket-keeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. ...

. He made his debut for

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

against

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

in March 2006. He was one of the eleven cricketers to play in Nepal's first ever One Day International (ODI) match, against the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, in August 2018. Gyanendra Malla became the seventh Nepalese cricketer to score an international century, when he slammed 114 off 125 balls against

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

during the

2014 ICC World Cricket League Division Three The 2014 ICC World Cricket League Division Three was a cricket divisional tournament organised by International Cricket Council. It formed part of the ICC World Cricket League (WCL) and qualification for the 2019 World Cup. The top two teams in t ...

in October 2014.

Career

Early career

Malla made his debut for Nepal as a member of the U-15 cricket team in the year 2005. He then represented Nepal in ACC U-17 and finally ACC U-19, in the same year. He was named to Nepal U-19s' squad for the

2006 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup The 2006 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup was played in Sri Lanka from 2 to 15 February 2006. The final was played between Pakistan and India in Colombo, which Pakistan won by 38 runs, enabling them to become the first back-to-back champions of th ...

, following some impressive performances playing in the junior age levels. His career took off when he scored 145 runs in six innings, including 46 * in the Plate semi-final of the U-19 World cup to beat South Africa U-19s. His reward was a place on the senior squad for the

2006 Intercontinental Cup The 2006 IBAF Intercontinental Cup was held in Taichung, Taiwan from November 9 through the 19th. Eight countries contested the tournament, which was played at Taichung Baseball Field and the newly built Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium ...

. Malla is known as the dependable

of Nepal's team who likes to build the innings under pressure. He has been an important member of the national team and has contributed to many of Nepal's historic successes. He holds the record of hammering six '4s' in an over on his way to scoring the fastest half-century for Nepal in One-Day matches off just 17 deliveries against

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

in the

2012 ACC Trophy Elite The 2012 ACC Trophy Elite is a cricket tournament in UAE, taking place between 3 and 12 October 2012. It gives Associate and Affiliate members of the Asian Cricket Council experience of international Limited overs cricket, one-day cricket and al ...

. He then scored 212 runs with the impressive average of 42, including 2 fifties, which helped Nepal to win the title for the first time. His 86 runs against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in the

2014 Cricket World Cup Qualifier The 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier was a cricket tournament that formed the final part of the Cricket World Cup qualification process for the 2015 World Cup. The top two teams qualified for the World Cup, joining Ireland and for the first time Af ...

, 66 runs against

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in the final of 2012 Division Four, 76 * against

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...

in the

2008 ACC Trophy Elite The 2008 ACC Trophy Elite was a cricket tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, taking place between 25 July and 3 August 2008. It gives Associate and Affiliate members of the Asian Cricket Council experience of international one-day cricket and a ...

, 75 important runs against

in the 2008 Division Five, and 67 * off just 21 balls against Karnataka Institute of Cricket (India), (SAARC Under-25 Twenty20 Cup 2011) are some of the more memorable innings of his career. He also represented Nepal in the

2014 ICC World Twenty20 The 2014 ICC World Twenty20 was the fifth ICC World Twenty20 competition, an international Twenty20 cricket tournament, that took place in Bangladesh from 16 March to 6 April 2014. It was played in three cities — Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet. ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

where he scored 83 runs in three innings at an average of 27.66. He scored his maiden century against

in the

in October 2014. He scored 241 runs in six innings at an average of 48.20 during the tournament. Earlier he scored 167 off 157 balls in a practice match against the

Ragama Cricket Club Ragama Cricket Club are a first-class cricket team based in Ragama, Sri Lanka. Their home ground is the Free Trade Zone Sports Complex. History Ragama Cricket Club was formed in 1989. It achieved promotion to first-class cricket, first-class stat ...

, a first-class cricket team from Sri Lanka, when

toured Sri Lanka in preparation for the tournament. In the 2015 ICC World Cricket League Division Two, he scored 236 runs in 6 innings at an average of 59.00. Nepal qualified for the 2015–17 ICC World Cricket League Championship but failed to secure promotion to Division One and qualification to the 2015–17 ICC Intercontinental Cup. In the

World Cricket League The ICC World Cricket League (WCL) was a series of international one-day cricket tournaments for national teams without Test status (i.e., teams of Associate status) administered by the International Cricket Council. All Associate Members of ...

, from 2008 Division Five to 2015 Division Two, he has scored 1262 runs in 45 innings at an average of 36.06, with a hundred and seven fifties.

2018-present

In July 2018, he was named in Nepal's squad for their One Day International (ODI) series against the Netherlands. These were Nepal's first ODI matches since gaining ODI status during the

2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier The 2018 ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier was a cricket tournament that took place during March 2018 in Zimbabwe. It formed the final part of the Cricket World Cup qualification process for the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales. The top two te ...

. He made his ODI debut for Nepal against the

on 1 August 2018. In August 2018, he was named the vice-captain of Nepal's squad for the

2018 Asia Cup Qualifier The 2018 Asia Cup Qualifier was a cricket tournament that was held in Malaysia from 29 August to 6 September 2018. The event served as the qualifier for the 2018 Asia Cup. The top two teams from the group stage met in the final, with the winner ...

tournament. In October 2018, he was named in Nepal's squad in the Eastern sub-region group for the 2018–19 ICC World Twenty20 Asia Qualifier tournament. In June 2019, he was named as the vice-captain of Nepal's squad for the Regional Finals of the

2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier The 2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier was the tournament played as part of qualification process for the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup. Twelve regional qualifiers were held by the International Cricket Council (ICC), with 62 teams competed duri ...

tournament. On 24 July 2019, in the match against

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, Malla captained Nepal after regular captain

Paras Khadka Paras Khadka (, ne, पारस खड्का, ; born 24 October 1987) is a Nepalese professional cricketer also known as the god of Nepali cricket. He was the captain of the Nepalese cricket team from 2008 to 2019. All-rounder Khadka is a ...

did not play due to an injury. Nepal went on to win the rain-affected match by 7 wickets with Malla was adjudged

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

for his half-century and smart captaincy. He made his first-class debut on 6 November 2019, for

against the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

(MCC), during the MCC's tour of Nepal. In November 2019, he was named as the captain of Nepal's squads for the

2019 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup The 2019 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup was the fourth edition of the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup held in Bangladesh between 14 and 23 November 2019. Eight teams participated in the tournament, including five under-23 age level teams of Test nations ...

in Bangladesh, and the cricket tournament at the

2019 South Asian Games The 2019 South Asian Games, officially the XIII South Asian Games, was a major multi-sport event which was originally slated to be held from 9 to 18 March 2019 in Kathmandu and Pokhara, Nepal. However, the dates were postponed and the event was ...

. On 5 December 2019, he scored his first century in T20Is. The Nepal team won the bronze medal, after they beat the Maldives by five wickets in the third-place playoff match. In September 2020, he was one of eighteen cricketers to be awarded with a central contract by the

Cricket Association of Nepal Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) is the official governing body of cricket in Nepal. It was suspended from 2016 to 13 October 2019 due to governmental interference. The ICC welcomed the elections of the board held in September 2019 and for ...

. In January 2021, he was named as the captain in the

Bagmati Province Bagmati Province ( ne, बाग्मती प्रदेश, ''Bagmati Pradesh'') is one of the seven provinces of Nepal established by the constitution of Nepal. The province is Nepal's second-most populous province and fifth largest provinc ...

's squad for the 2021 Prime Minister Cup. In December 2021, Malla along with

Dipendra Singh Airee Dipendra Singh Airee ( ne, दिपेन्द्र सिंह ऐरी; born 24 January 2000) is a Nepalese cricketer. In August 2018, he was one of the eleven cricketers to play in Nepal's first ever One Day International (ODI) match, aga ...

were sacked as captain and Vice-captain respectively, over disciplinary issues and instead

(CAN) appointed star leg-spinner

Sandeep Lamichhane Sandeep Lamichhane ( ne, सन्दीप लामिछाने, ; born 2 August 2000) is a Nepalese cricketer who captained the Nepalese national team, A right-arm leg spin bowler, Lamichhane has played for Twenty20 franchise sides acro ...

as the new skipper of Nepal national team.

References

External links

*
Gyanendra Malla
at CricketArchive {{DEFAULTSORT:Malla, Gyanendra 1990 births Nepalese cricketers Nepalese cricket captains Nepal One Day International cricketers Nepal Twenty20 International cricketers Living people Cricketers at the 2010 Asian Games Cricketers at the 2014 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for Nepal South Asian Games bronze medalists for Nepal South Asian Games medalists in cricket Wicket-keepers