Asia Cup: Lamichhane leaves for Pakistan to play against Pakistan and India

Rape-accused cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane has left for Pakistan on Monday to play Asia Cup.

National Sports Council member-secretary Tanka Lal Ghising bid farewell to cricketer Lamichhane from the Tribhuvan International Airport.

The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) said that he will reach Pakistan via Doha of Qatar.

The Nepali team had left for Pakistan on August 22 to take part in the Asia Cup to be held in Pakistan and Sri Lanka from August 30 to September 17.

The final hearing of Lamichhane’s case was scheduled for Sunday but it was deferred until September 7 due to some reasons.

null

A 17-member team will be led by Rohit Paudel.

Along with Captain Paudel, Asif Sheikh, Kushal Bhurtel, Lalita Rajbansi, Bhim Sarki, Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee and Sandeep Lamichhane are in the team.

Similarly, the CAN has included Karan KC, Gulsan Jha, Sompal Kami, Pratish GC, Kishor Mahato, Sandeep Jora, Arjun Saud and Shyam Dhakal in the team.

Nepal are playing the Asia Cup for the first time.

Nepal and Pakistan will play in the inaugural match while Nepal will play against Indian in the second match in Sri Lanka.

 

 

Devika Palshikar appointed as consultant coach for Nepali women cricket team

The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has appointed former Indian cricketer Devika Palshikar as the consultant coach for the Nepali national women cricket team.

The appointment takes place at a time when Nepal is preparing for the 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier.

Previously Palshikar worked as the assistant coach for India and Bangladesh, and the batting coach for the Mumbai Indians Club for last season's Women's Premier League. She worked for India as an assistant coach (From 2014 to 2016), and for Bangladesh (2018).

The participating teams in the Asia Qualifier scheduled to take place in Malaysia from August 31 to September 9 are divided into two groups.

Nepal is in Group 'A'. Together with Nepal, hosts Malaysia, Bahrain, Bhutan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar are in Group 'A'.

Similarly, China, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Thailand and Myanmar are placed in Group 'B' of the tournament.

The top two teams of each group will play the semi-final and the two teams reaching the finals will get a chance to play in the Global Qualifier.

The Nepali line-up selected for the tournament includes Rubina Chhetri (Captain), Sita Rana Magar, Indu Barma, Apsari Begum, Kabita Kunwar, Kabita Joshi, Asmina Karmacharya, Ishwori Bista, Kritika Marasini, Bindu Rawal, Neri Thapa, Kajol Shrestha, Samjhana Khadka, Saraswoti Chaudhary, Sneha Mahara, Shristi Jaisi, Kanchan Shrestha, Roma Thapa, Sabnam Rai, Puja Mahato, Khusi Dongol, Manisha Chaudhary, Jyoti Pandey and Ruby Poddar.

Gyanendra Malla announces retirement from international cricket

National cricket team member and former captain Gyanendra Malla announced his retirement from international cricket on Friday.

He made the announcement by organizing a press conference in the Capital this afternoon.

Malla said that, with this, his different journey has begun.

“I also might have replaced someone in cricket at some point. Now, this is my time. That is why, I have decided to retire myself from playing international cricket and start a different journey,” he said.

He expressed his gratitude to the audience and family who inspired him to win the matches from the parapets.

The former national cricket team skipper made it clear that this is a chapter of his new journey.

On the occasion, he also recalled former national cricket team captain Paras Khadka.

 

 

 

Hope, Pooran fire West Indies to World Cup qualifying win over Nepal

Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran hit centuries to propel the West Indies to a convincing 101-run win over Nepal at the World Cup Qualifier in Harare on Thursday. Hope scored 132 while Pooran made a brisk 115 as the pair put on 216 for the fourth wicket to help the two-time champions post 339-7 after a bad start to the innings. Kyle Mayers fell for just one and Johnson Charles was out for nought as the West Indies slumped to 9-2. Opener Brandon King made 32 before he was bowled by leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane. "We were put on the back foot there," said Hope. "The key was absorbing as much pressure as possible and then find a way to transfer that pressure in the back end. "Pooran made it a lot easier for me. The aim was to take it as deep as possible give us the best chance towards the end." Hope and Pooran joined forces in the 16th over and took the game away from Nepal, who were left to rue a dropped catch off Pooran early in his innings. Wicketkeeper Aasif Sheikh put down a Pooran edge off left-arm spinner Lalit Rajbanshi when the batsman was on just three. With Hope ticking along at a more sedate pace, Pooran took on the role of aggressor before both players reached their hundreds in the 40th over. Hope completed his 15th ODI ton off 107 balls before Pooran carved Gulsan Jha to the boundary a few deliveries later to bring up his second one-day century off 81 balls -- four years after his first. Dipendra Singh Airee eventually removed Pooran for 115 with a terrific catch off his own bowling but Rovman Powell kept the runs flowing with a quick-fire 29 alongside Jason Holder's 16 not out. Hope holed out to long-off in the final over for 132 and Keemo Paul was bowled off the last ball as Rajbanshi finished with 3-52.
- Nepal pursuit rocked -
Nepal's chase began poorly with Alzarri Joseph uprooting Kushal Bhurtel's off stump in the second over. Bhim Sharki soon followed when he was caught behind off Holder trying a scoop shot. Several Nepali batsmen made decent starts but only Aarif Sheikh passed fifty, reaching 63 before falling to a stunning Pooran catch in the deep as his team was bowled out for 238. Holder took 3-34 for the West Indies with Joseph, Paul and Akeal Hosein all picking up two wickets. The West Indies have won their first two matches and moved above tournament hosts Zimbabwe on net run rate at the top of Group A. The two nations meet in their next match on Saturday. In Thursday's other game, the Netherlands bounced back from an opening loss to Zimbabwe by condemning the United States to a third straight defeat. Shayan Jahangir top-scored with 71 as the USA scrapped their way to 211-8, but Dutch captain Scott Edwards led his team to a five-wicket victory with an unbeaten 67 after Teja Nidamanuru steadied the innings with his 58. The USA are eliminated from contention while the Netherlands and Nepal face off Saturday in a contest that will likely determine which team advances to the Super Six stage. The qualifiers continue on Friday with surprise Group B leaders Oman hunting a third successive win against Sri Lanka in Bulawayo, while Scotland play the United Arab Emirates. Later Thursday, the United States' problems deepened when seamer Kyle Phillip was banned from bowling with immediate effect due to an illegal action, said the ICC in a statement. The 26-year-old was reported by the match officials following the game against the West Indies on Sunday.
"Phillip's suspension shall remain in place until he submits to a reassessment of his bowling action which concludes that his bowling action is legal," the ICC said in a statement. AFP