The Nepal national cricket team ( ne, नेपाल राष्ट्रिय क्रिकेट टीम) nicknamed The Rhinos and Gorkhalis, represents the country of

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

International cricket International cricket matches are played between teams representing their nations, normally organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The main forms are Test matches, One-Day matches and Twenty20 matches. Most games are played ...

and is governed by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN). They have been an Associate Member of the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are List of International Cricket Council members, 108 national associations, with 12 List of Internation ...

(ICC) since 1996. Nepal were awarded

Twenty20 International A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between two of the international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in which each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. The matches have top-class status and are the ...

(T20I) status by the ICC in June 2014 until the

2015 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier The 2015 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, for the 2016 World Twenty20, was held from 6 to 26 July 2015. The tournament was hosted by both Ireland and Scotland. 51 matches were played among 14 nations, down from 72 matches among 16 nations previous ...

. On 15 March 2018, Nepal gained

One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...

(ODI) status for the first time (and regained

status), after winning the first playoff match in 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 ...

. Nepal made their maiden appearance in the ICC global event at 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. Th ...

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 ...

. They have been participating in international matches since 1996, including every ACC Trophy tournaments except

2015 ACC Twenty20 Cup The 2015 ACC Twenty20 Cup was an international cricket tournament that was held between 25 and 30 January 2015 in the United Arab Emirates. Oman national cricket team, Oman won the round-robin tournament and qualified for the 2015 ICC World Twent ...

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

, where they didn't participate. Nepal also participated in ICC World Cup Qualifier in 2001 2014 and 2018, ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in 2012, 2013 and 2015,

ICC Intercontinental Cup The ICC Intercontinental Cup was a first-class cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as part of its cricket development programme. It was designed to allow Associate Members of the ICC the chance to play first ...

in 2004 and 2005,

ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament The ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament was a three-day cricket tournament run by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), contested between its top-ranking ICC associate members. It was played three times between 2004 and 2006, and then replaced by the ...

in 2004, 2005 and 2006,

ACC Twenty20 Cup The ACC Twenty20 Cup was a 20-over cricket tournament organised by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). The tournament did not include the ACC members who were full members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) during the years in which it was h ...

in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013,

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

in 2010 and 2014 and

ACC Premier League The ACC Premier League is a One Day cricket tournament run by the Asian Cricket Council that is contested between its members nations in League system. It has evolved from the former ACC Trophy Elite cricket competition and played under three di ...

in 2014. Unlike some other smaller cricketing nations, where teams are largely made up of expatriates, Nepal's national team comprises indigenous players who have usually come through the ranks playing age-group cricket. On 15 March 2018 Nepal claimed

(ODI) status for the first time with a win over

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

in the

9th place play off encounter. In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant full

(T20I) status to all its members. Therefore, all

Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single innin ...

matches played between Nepal and other ICC members after 1 January 2019 became full T20I matches.

History

Beginnings

According to the 1877 book, History of Nepal edited by Daniel Wright: Over time, cricket came to be considered a gentleman's sport, and involvement was limited mainly to the ruling

Rana family Rana dynasty ( ne, राणा वंश, IAST=Rāṇā vaṃśa , ) is a Chhetri dynasty that imposed totalitarianism in the Kingdom of Nepal from 1846 until 1951, reducing the Shah monarch to a figurehead and making Prime Minister and other ...

and other members of the Nepali elite. In 1946, 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 ...

was formed to promote cricket amongst the aristocracy. After the introduction of democracy through the

Revolution of 1951 The revolution of 1951 () in Kingdom of Nepal, Nepal, also referred to as Sat Salko Kranti, was a political movement against the direct rule by the Rana dynasty of Nepal which had lasted for 104 years. It marks the beginning of the political awak ...

, cricket began to spread to the rest of the population. In 1961, in an effort to promote cricket to the whole of Nepal, the Cricket Association of Nepal became part of the

National Sports Council The National Sports Council (NSC) is the national overseer of the control authorities of 41 different sports in Bangladesh. It is responsible to the Bangladesh Ministry of Youth and Sports and is based in Purana Paltan, Dhaka. History After t ...

. Nevertheless, the National games tended to be limited to

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

until the 1980s.Encyclopedia of World Cricket by Roy Morgan, Sports Books Publishing, 2007

ICC membership

Improvements to communications and transport infrastructure in Nepal allowed the game to expand outside Kathmandu in the 1980s and Nepal became an Affiliate Member of the International Cricket Council in 1988. A major development program was begun in the early 1990s, which saw regional and district tournaments being established and the increased promotion of cricket in schools. The local population's interest in cricket increased quickly, and the demand to play was such that restrictions had to be placed on the number teams in several tournaments until more facilities could be built in the mid-1990s. Nepal became an Associate Member of the

on February 2, 1996, which was the year the national side played for the first time in the

1996 ACC Trophy The 1996 ACC Trophy was a cricket tournament in Malaysia, which took place from 6 to 16 September 1996. It gave Associate and Affiliate members of the Asian Cricket Council experience of international one-day cricket and also helped form an essen ...

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

. Nepal finished fourth out of six teams in their first round group, beating

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. By 1998, the facilities in Nepal had improved sufficiently to allow them to host that year's ACC Trophy at grounds in Lalitpur and Kirtipur (at TU Cricket Ground) and

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

. Nepal themselves were unsuccessful in the tournament, going without a win. Currently, the country has one of the best fan followings among ICC Associate Members. It lost its governing body, the

(CAN) which was suspended by the

(ICC) due to unnecessary government interference in 2016, but it was reinstated in October 2019.

T20I status and series

On 28 June 2014, the ICC awarded

T20I A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between two of the international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in which each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. The matches have top-class status and are the ...

status to Nepal, who took part and performed exceptionally well in the

. Nepal had already played three T20I matches before gaining the status, as the ICC had earlier announced that all matches at the

would have T20I status. *''First ever T20I match for Nepal'' Nepal lost the status in July 2015, after failing to qualify for the

2016 ICC World Twenty20 The 2016 ICC World Twenty20 was the sixth edition of the ICC World Twenty20, the world championship of Twenty20 International cricket. It was held in India from 8 March to 3 April 2016, and was the first edition to be hosted by India. Seven ...

. Nepal played their first ever Twenty20 International series against

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

in November 2014 in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. Initially the series was scheduled for three matches but only one match was played because of continuous rain and poor ground conditions. Nepal lost the match but Sompal Kami put in impressive performance by scoring 40 off 31 balls, coming in at No. 10. This was the world-record for the highest score made by a batsman at that position. Nepal played their second Twenty20 International series 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 ...

from 30 June to 3 July 2015. Nepal lost the 4 match series 3–1. Paras Khadka was named the player of the series. Nepali National Cricket team

21st century

2000 – 2009

In 2000, Nepal's youth development policy began to pay off when the

Nepal national under-19 cricket team The Nepal national under-19 cricket team represents Nepal in under-19 international cricket. It is governed by Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), which is an associate member of International Cricket Council (ICC). Nepal has historically been one ...

finished eighth in the Under-19 World Cup. The senior side had their best performance to date later in the year when they reached the semi-finals of the

2000 ACC Trophy The 2000 ACC Trophy was a cricket tournament held from 15 to 24 November 2000 in the United Arab Emirates. It gave Associate and Affiliate members of the Asian Cricket Council experience of international one-day cricket and also helped form an es ...

before losing to

Sharjah Sharjah (; ar, ٱلشَّارقَة ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Sharjah is the capital o ...

. They competed in the

ICC Trophy The ICC World Cup Qualifier (previously called the ICC Trophy and officially known as the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier) is a One-Day International (ODI) cricket tournament that serves as the culmination of the Cricket World Cup qualifi ...

for the first time the following year. In the tournament in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, they beat

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

, but a loss to eventual runners-up

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 ...

prevented them from progressing past the first round. Nepal were runners-up to the

in the

2002 ACC Trophy The 2002 ACC Trophy was a cricket tournament held from 10 to 21 July 2002 in Singapore. It gave Associate and Affiliate members of the Asian Cricket Council experience of international Limited overs cricket, one-day cricket and also helped form an ...

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, borde ...

and they hosted the ACC Emerging Nations Tournament in 2003, winning easily against

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

and the

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

. They won so comprehensively that they were not invited back to the tournament the next time it was played in 2005.

Raju Khadka Raju Khadka (born 11 September 1975) is a former Nepalese cricketer. An all-rounder, Raju is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler. He made his debut for Nepal against Bangladesh in September 1996. Khadka became the first Nep ...

became the first Nepalese cricketer to score an international

century A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

, when he slammed an unbeaten 105 off just 50 balls against

in the tournament. Nepal played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

for the first time in 2004, playing in the

against the

and

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 ...

. They beat

, but drew with the

, failing to reach the semi-final stage. Nepal finished third in the 2004 ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament, which qualified them for the

2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup The 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup was the second edition of the ICC Intercontinental Cup, a cricket competition for (then) 12 nations from Asia, Africa, North America and Europe. All the games were scheduled for three days and were designated ...

, and finished 5th in the

2004 ACC Trophy The 2004 ACC Trophy was a cricket tournament in Malaysia, taking place between 12 and 24 June 2004. It gave Associate and Affiliate members of the Asian Cricket Council experience of international Limited overs cricket, one-day cricket and also h ...

, which qualified them for the repêchage tournament of the

2005 ICC Trophy The 2005 ICC Trophy was a cricket tournament held in Ireland between 1 July and 13 July 2005. It was an international one-day tournament played over 50 overs per side between 12 Associate Members of the International Cricket Council. It served a ...

. They finished third in this tournament after beating

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 sh ...

in a play-off, meaning that they did not qualify for the

Shakti Gauchan Shakti Prasad Gauchan ( ne, शक्ति प्रसाद गौचन) (born 22 April 1984) is a Nepalese former professional cricketer. An all-rounder, Shakti is a right-handed batsman and a left-arm orthodox spinner. He made his debut ...

scored a century against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and stayed unbeaten on 106 off 103 balls in the tournament. They beat the

and drew with

in the

, but missed out on qualification for the semi-finals by half a point. They were runners-up to the

in the 2005 ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament. In March 2006, Nepal played

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 20 ...

in a play-off match to decide the final team in the

2006 ICC Intercontinental Cup 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. Nepal needed to win outright to qualify for the main tournament, but the match was drawn after there was no play on the first day. Later in the year, they toured

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, playing against the Pakistan Cricket Academy before playing in the

2006 ACC Trophy The 2006 ACC Trophy was a cricket tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, taking place between 14 August and 26 August 2006. It gave associate and affiliate members of the Asian Cricket Council experience in international one-day cricket. This was ...

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

. In the

, Nepal bowled

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

out for just 10 off 12.1 overs after Nepal won the toss and sent Myanmar in; no batsman scored more than one, the innings included five ducks, and extras top scored with five (three leg byes and two wides). Mehboob Alam and

Binod Das Binod Kumar Das ( ne, विनोद कुमार दास; born 26 April 1983) is a Nepalese former cricketer and a former captain of Nepal national cricket team. All-rounder Binod is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium pace bow ...

picked up seven wickets and three wickets respectively. In reply, Nepal hit three off the first ball, followed by three wides that went for five, and then hit another three from the second legitimate delivery to win by ten wickets. Some critics called it the greatest mismatch in the history of international cricket and the score of 10 is the lowest in any level of men's international cricket. They finished fourth in the tournament after losing to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

in a play-off. They won the

in 2006. They played in the

2007 ACC Twenty20 Cup The 2007 ACC Twenty20 Cup was played from 27 October until 2 November 2007 in Kuwait. The ten competing teams were: Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the UAE. Group stage Group A Group A sa ...

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

, where they finished fourth in their first round group. In May 2008, Nepal traveled to

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

to play in

2008 ICC World Cricket League Division Five The 2008 ICC World Cricket League Division Five is a cricket tournament that took place between 23 and 31 May 2008 in Jersey. It formed part of the ICC World Cricket League and qualification for the 2011 World Cup tournament. Afghanistan won t ...

of 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 t ...

. Mehboob Alam set the world record by taking all ten wickets in the match against

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. He got his name in the

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for becoming the first bowler to take all 10 wickets in an ICC international cricket match with limited overs. Nepal topped Group A after the group qualifying matches but lost to

in the semi-final and finished third overall after defeating the

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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in the playoff for third place. With only the top two from this tournament qualifying for

2008 ICC World Cricket League Division Four The 2008 ICC World Cricket League Division Four is a cricket tournament in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, which took place between 4 and 11 October 2008 as a part of the ICC World Cricket League and qualifying for the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Teams T ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

later in the year, Nepal missed out on the chance to take their 2011 World Cup dream any further. Later, Nepal appeared 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 ...

and finished fourth after losing to the

in the semi-final and to

in the playoff for third place. Nepal finished fifth in the

2009 ACC Twenty20 Cup The 2009 ACC Twenty20 Cup was played between 22 and 30 November 2009 in the United Arab Emirates. The twelve competing teams were: Afghanistan, Bahrain, China, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the UAE. ...

after beating

by 9 wickets in the playoff for fifth place. In a group match against

, Nepal needed 7 runs off the last ball to win. Binod Bhandari, making his debut for the national team, hit a last-ball six to tie the match. Eventually Nepal won the match in

bowl-out A bowl-out (sometimes termed a bowl-off) was used as a tiebreaker in various forms of limited overs cricket to decide a match that would otherwise end in a tie. Five bowlers from each side deliver one or two balls each at an unguarded wicket (th ...

2010 – 2014

Nepal won their first major tournament, beating

in the final of

2010 ICC World Cricket League Division Five The 2010 ICC World Cricket League Division Five was a cricket tournament that took place in February 2010 in Nepal. It formed part of the World Cricket League competition administered by the International Cricket Council, the international gover ...

held at

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

in February 2010. Sharad Vesawkar scored a century and stayed unbeaten on 105 off 134 balls against

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

in the tournament. Nepal played very well in

2010 ACC Trophy Elite The 2010 ACC Trophy Elite was a cricket tournament in Kuwait, taking place between March 31 and April 9, 2010. It gives Associate and Affiliate members of the Asian Cricket Council experience of international one-day cricket and also helps forms ...

, winning all the matches in group stage and beating

in the semi-final by 8 runs but lost the final against an ODI team

by 95 runs and finished runners-up. Nepal came third in

2010 ICC World Cricket League Division Four The 2010 ICC World Cricket League Division Four was a cricket tournament that took place in August 2010 in Italy. It formed part of the World Cricket League competition administered by the International Cricket Council, the international governin ...

, thus remaining in Division Four for

2012 ICC World Cricket League Division Four The 2012 ICC World Cricket League Division Four was a cricket tournament which took place from 3 to 10 September 2012. It formed part of the ICC World Cricket League and qualifying for the 2015 World Cup. The host country for the tournament was ...

. In November, Nepal appeared in

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several events ...

and lost against

in the quarter-final. It was the first match Nepal had played against a Full Member nation. In December 2011, Nepal hosted the

2011 ACC Twenty20 Cup The 2011 ACC Twenty20 Cup was played between 3–11 December 2011 in Nepal. The tournament acted as a qualifying tournament for the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. The tournament was won by defending champions Afghanistan who defeated Hong Kon ...

and finished fourth, thereby qualifying for the

2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier The 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier was played in early 2012 as a part of ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier series. This edition of the qualifier for the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 was an expanded version comprising ten qualifiers from regional Twenty ...

. Nepal finished seventh in the

after defeating

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and

in play-offs.

took the first international

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

for Nepal against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

in the tournament. In September 2012, Nepal appeared in

, where Subash Khakurel and

Anil Mandal Anil Kumar Mandal ( ne, अनिल कुमार मन्डल) (born 5 February 1991) is a Nepalese cricketer. Mandal is a right-handed opening batsman. He made his debut for Nepal against USA in February 2010. Anil Mandal became the fif ...

both scored century. Subash Khakurel scored 115 off 142 balls against

United States 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 territorie ...

and

scored 113 off 134 balls against

. In a match against

set up Nepal's convincing victory with a new record. The left-arm orthodox spinner's figures of 10–8–2–3 is the best economical bowling spell ever in limited over encounters. Nepal won all the six matches of the tournament and progressed to

2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three The 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three was a cricket tournament which took place from 28 April to 5 May 2013 in Bermuda. It formed part of the ICC World Cricket League and qualifying for the 2015 World Cup. Nepal were the pre-tournam ...

. Nepalese players won

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 ...

awards in all the six matches Nepal played and Basanta Regmi won the player of the tournament award after taking a total of 21 wickets in the tournament. In October, Nepal competed in

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 one-day cricket and also helps form an essen ...

and had to share the trophy with the

after a thrilling tied final in Sharjah Cricket Stadium,

on 12 October 2012.

posted 241, a target that looked in Nepal's sight after their 94-run opening stand. However, they lost wickets consistently, and eventually needed 12 off the last over with just two wickets in hand.

smacked

Shadeep Silva Elle Hennadige Shadeep Nadeeja Silva (born 18 August 1978), usually known as Shadeep Silva, is a Sri Lankan-born cricketer who played for the United Arab Emirates national cricket team. Skipper Paras Khadka scored an unbeaten 106 off just 77 balls against

, his maiden century for Nepal, in the tournament. Nepal competed in

2013 ACC Twenty20 Cup The 2013 ACC Twenty20 Cup was a cricket tournament held between March 26 and April 3 in Nepal. The tournament served as a qualifying tournament for the 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. Afghanistan has already qualified as an ODI nation while UA ...

held at home grounds in Kirtipur and Lalitpur. Nepal easily marched towards the final of the tournament with high class performance from their captain, Paras Khadka, and the team thrashed the

by 6 wickets. Nepal had earlier qualified for

2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier The 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier was played in November 2013 in the United Arab Emirates and is a part of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier series. This edition of the qualifier for the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 was an expanded version comprisi ...

, reaching the semi-final of the tournament. Nepal had to be satisfied with runners-up status after losing to an ODI team

by 7 wickets. The Nepalese team was supported by a huge fan following throughout this tournament with an average turnout of 15,000 – 20,000 (about 25,000 in the semi-final and final) during their matches while hundreds of thousands watched live on television – undoubtedly the largest public support outside the Test-playing nations. Nepal won the

held in

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and qualified for the 2014 World Cup Qualifier. Nepal also played in 2013 ACC Emerging Teams Cup, where under-23 age level teams of the four Test nations –

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

took part along with the

and the hosts

. Nepal finished third in

held in

and qualified for the

, defeating

off the last ball of the thrilling quarter-final. Nepal missed out on qualification for the 2015 World Cup, finishing ninth in the 2014 World Cup Qualifier in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in January. Nepal were the best of the three associate teams on display in Group A of the

. They comprehensively beat

, held their own with the bat against

and pulled off a strong win against

, their first since 2004 in any format against their old rivals. Nepal's bowlers did not bowl a single wide or no ball throughout the tournament. Nepal were also the only team to not concede 140 in an innings in the tournament. Nepal finished third in the

2014 ACC Premier League The three-tier ACC Premier League tournament has evolved from the former two-tier ACC Trophy cricket competition. The 2014–15 season started with top tier tournament which was held in Malaysia in May. It gives Associate and Affiliate members ...

, where they beat ODI teams

and

, and qualified for the

2014 ACC Championship The ACC Championship was a cancelled two-day cricket tournament run by the Asian Cricket Council that is contested between its members nations. The first tournament was scheduled to be held in December 2014. It was canceled due to the busy prep ...

. In September, Nepal participated in the

2014 Asian Games The 2014 Asian Games ( ko, 2014년 아시아 경기대회/2014년 아시안 게임, Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the 17th Asian Games ( ko, 제17회 아시아 경기대회/제17회 ...

but failed to qualify beyond quarter-finals. Nepal won 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 ...

held in

and qualified for the

2015 ICC World Cricket League Division Two The 2015 ICC World Cricket League Division Two was a cricket divisional tournament organised by the International Cricket Council. It formed part of the ICC World Cricket League and a qualification pathway for the ICC World Cup 2019. The tourna ...

. Gyanendra Malla scored his maiden century, 114 off 125 balls, against

in the tournament. In November, Nepal toured

, as

Sri Lanka Cricket Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is the governing body for cricket in Sri Lanka. It was first registered with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Sports (Sri Lanka), Ministry of Sports as the Board of Cricket for Sri Lanka (BCCSL) on 30 June 1975 as a national spo ...

approved a request from the Asian Cricket Council to support the region's Non-Test playing countries, where they played two three-day matches against

Sri Lanka Cricket Combined XI Sri Lanka Cricket Combined XI was a Sri Lankan Twenty20 cricket team. The team was established in 2010 and featured only in the 2009–10 Inter-Provincial Twenty20 of the Inter-Provincial Twenty20, in which they came last. The team was captained b ...

. and a Twenty20 International series against

2015 – 2019

Nepal finished fourth in the

and qualified for the 2015–17 ICC World Cricket League Championship. But Nepal failed to secure promotion to Division One and qualification to 2015–17 ICC Intercontinental Cup after finishing third in the round-robin stage. Basanta Regmi became the first bowler to take 100 wickets in the

. He achieved this feat after taking 2 wickets against

in the tournament. On 11 April 2015, Nepal hosted a 63-over (31.3 overs per side) tribute match in honour of the Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes who was batting on 63 when he was struck by a bouncer. The match was played at the TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur between Team Red, combined of players of Nepal and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and Team Blue, composed of all Nepalese players. In June, Nepal toured

to play a Twenty20 International series against the home team. Then Nepal appeared in the

held in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, where the team finished seventh in the Group A, thus failing to qualify for the second consecutive ICC World Twenty20. Nepal finished second in

2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Two 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Two was a cricket tournament that took place in February 2018 in Namibia. The United Arab Emirates won the tournament, after beating Nepal by 7 runs in the final. Canada and Namibia finished third and fourth ...

to earn a place in the

. On 15 March, Nepal claimed

(ODI) status for the first time with their win over

in the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier 9th place play off encounter. Due to gaining ODI status, Nepal also regained

(T20I) status. After gaining ODI status, Nepal's captain at the Cricket World Cup Qualifier, Paras Khadka, said that they want to gain

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

status, which he believes will take between eight and ten years to achieve. Nepal played their first 3 match ODI series against UAE and won 2–1, their first ODI series win. Paras Khadka became the first batsman to score an ODI century for Nepal. Sundeep Jora became the world's youngest player to score a half-century in T20I format, at the age of 17 years and 103 days. In October 2019, the

, which was suspended in 2016, was readmitted as an ICC member.

2020 – present

Nepal hosted

and

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

in the

fifth round Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash th ...

of the

2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 The 2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 is the first edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2, a cricket tournament which forms part of the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualification process. It is currently running from August 2019 to F ...

in February 2020. In the last match of the series, Nepal bowled out the United States for the joint-lowest total of 35 in ODI cricket. Kushal Malla (Nep) made his ODI debut, and at the age of 15 years and 340 days, he became the youngest male cricketer to score an international half-century while playing against the USA on February 8, 2020. Nepal hosted the

and

in the 2020–21 Nepal Tri-Nation Series in April 2021. Nepal finished top in the points table winning three out of four group matches and qualified for the final, where they played against the Netherlands. Nepal comprehensively beat the Netherlands by 142 runs and won the series. Kushal Bhurtel, making his debut for Nepal, scored 278 runs in the series at an average of 69.50 and a strike rate of 140.40 and won the Player of the series award.

2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 Points table

International grounds

Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground, Tribhuvan University Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, Kathmandu Valley, Kathmandu and Pokhara Rangasala, Pokhara Rangashala in Pokhara are the only venues to have hosted an international match so far. Mulpani Cricket Stadium in

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

and Fapla International Cricket Ground, Fapla Cricket Ground in Dhangadhi have also been used for some domestic matches. Gautam Buddha International Cricket Stadium is being built by the Dhurmus Suntali Foundation in Bharatpur, Nepal, Bharatpur, which is set to become the largest cricketing venue in the country.

Tournament history

World Cup

ICC T20 World Cup

World Cup Qualifier

ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier

*2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, 2012: 7th place *2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, 2013: 3rd place (Qualified for 2014 ICC World Twenty20) *2015 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, 2015: 12th place *2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier, 2019: Did not qualify *2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Global Qualifier A, 2022: 3rd place

World Cricket League

*2008 ICC World Cricket League Division Five, 2008 Division Five: 3rd place *2010 ICC World Cricket League Division Five, 2010 Division Five: Champions *2010 ICC World Cricket League Division Four, 2010 Division Four: 3rd place *2012 ICC World Cricket League Division Four, 2012 Division Four: Champions *2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three, 2013 Division Three: Champions *2014 ICC World Cricket League Division Three, 2014 Division Three: Champions *2015 ICC World Cricket League Division Two, 2015 Division Two: 4th place *2015–17 ICC World Cricket League Championship, 2015–17 Championship: 7th place *2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Two, 2018 Division Two: Runners-Up

ICC Intercontinental Cup

*2004 ICC Intercontinental Cup, 2004: First round *2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup, 2005: First round *2006 ICC Intercontinental Cup, 2006–07: Did not qualify *2007–08 ICC Intercontinental Cup, 2007–08: Did not participate *2009–10 ICC Intercontinental Cup, 2009–10: Not eligible – In Division Five *2011–13 ICC Intercontinental Cup, 2011–13: Not eligible – In Division Four *2015–17 ICC Intercontinental Cup, 2015–17: Did not qualify

ACC Championship

*2014 ACC Championship, 2014: Called-off

ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament

*ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament, 2004: 3rd place *ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament, 2005: Runners-up *ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament, 2006: Winners

ACC Premier League

*2014 ACC Premier League, 2014: 3rd place

ACC Trophy

*1996 ACC Trophy, 1996: First round *1998 ACC Trophy, 1998: First round *2000 ACC Trophy, 2000: Semi-finals *2002 ACC Trophy, 2002: Runners-up *2004 ACC Trophy, 2004: 5th place *2006 ACC Trophy, 2006: 4th place *2008 ACC Trophy Elite, 2008: 4th place *2010 ACC Trophy Elite, 2010: Runners-up *2012 ACC Trophy Elite, 2012: Winners (Shared trophy with

)

ACC Twenty20 Cup

*2007 ACC Twenty20 Cup, 2007: Group stage *2009 ACC Twenty20 Cup, 2009: 5th place *2011 ACC Twenty20 Cup, 2011: 4th place *2013 ACC Twenty20 Cup, 2013: Runners-up *2015 ACC Twenty20 Cup, 2015: Did not participate

Asian Games

*Cricket at the 2010 Asian Games, 2010: Quarter-finals *Cricket at the 2014 Asian Games, 2014: Quarter-finals

South Asian Games

*Cricket at the 2019 South Asian Games, 2019: Bronze

ACC Eastern Region T20

* 2018 ACC Eastern Region T20, 2018: Did not participate * 2020 ACC Eastern Region T20, 2020: 4th place

Asia Cup Qualifier

*2018 Asia Cup Qualifier, 2018: 4th Place *2020 Asia Cup Qualifier, 2020: Did not qualify

Honours

Others

*Cricket at the South Asian Games, South Asian Games ** Bronze Medal (1): Cricket at the 2019 South Asian Games, 2019

Records and Statistics

International Match Summary – Nepal ''Last updated 8 December 2022''

One Day Internationals

*Highest team total: 286/8 v United Arab Emirates national cricket team, Papua New Guinea, 25 March 2022 at Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur *Highest individual score: 126, Rohit Paudel v

, 25 March 2022 at Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur *Best individual bowling figures: 6/11, Sandeep Lamichhane v Papua New Guinea cricket team, Papua New Guinea, 10 September 2021, at Al Amerat Cricket Stadium, Muscat Most ODI runs for Nepal Most ODI wickets for Nepal ODI record versus other nations ''Records complete to ODI #4498. Last updated 8 December 2022.''

Twenty20 Internationals

*Highest team total: 238/3 v

, 24 April 2021 at Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur *Highest individual score: 110*, Dipendra Singh Airee v

, 2 April 2022 at Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur *Best individual bowling figures: 5/9, Sandeep Lamichhane v

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, 29 August 2022 at Gymkhana Club Ground, Nairobi Most T20I runs for Nepal Most T20I wickets for Nepal T20I record versus other nations ''Records complete to T20I #1752. Last updated 30 August 2022.''

Squad

''The following is a list of players were named in the most recent ODI or T20I squad. Uncapped players are listed in ''italics''. ''Updated 8 December 2022'' Key * C/G = Contract grade * S/N = Shirt number Note - * Sandeep Lamichhane, who played the recent T20I series against Kenya, is currently suspended by Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN). * Kushal Malla, Kamal Singh Airee, Sushan Bhari, Bikram Sob, Sharad Vesawkar have all been awarded central contracts but weren't part of the recent squads.

Coaching staff

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nepal National Cricket Team Cricket teams in Nepal National cricket teams Nepal in international cricket Men's national sports teams of Nepal, C

History

Beginnings

ICC membership

T20I status and series

21st century

2000 – 2009

2010 – 2014

2015 – 2019

2020 – present

2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 Points table

International grounds

Tournament history

World Cup

ICC T20 World Cup

World Cup Qualifier

ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier

World Cricket League

ICC Intercontinental Cup

ACC Championship

ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament

ACC Premier League

ACC Trophy

ACC Twenty20 Cup

Asian Games

South Asian Games

ACC Eastern Region T20

Asia Cup Qualifier

Honours

Others

Records and Statistics

One Day Internationals

Twenty20 Internationals

Squad

Coaching staff

See also

References

External links