These days, there is widespread satisfaction among people over the success of the second edition of the Nepal Premier League (NPL), the biggest national cricket tournament event ever organised in the country. It is not only the cricket lovers who are proud of the NPL. There is a generic sense of accomplishment about what is perceived as a success story, even by those who do not follow cricket.

Many stories were written about the competition, and several opinion pundits have dedicated their columns to the amazingness of the NPL. Yet as much as Nepali should celebrate the prospect that the nation can have a real shot at becoming an attractive cricket destination internationally, we are forgetting to celebrate another milestone related to cricket.

The first-ever Blind Women’s T20 World Cup was played in Sri Lanka in November 2025, and Nepal ended up as the runners-up. This is a huge achievement.

The Nepali team is led by Lieutenant Colonel of the Nepali Army, Pawan Ghimire, who lost his vision in an ambush during the Maoist insurgency. Now he is not only a trailblazer and pioneer but also a great organiser of adaptive sports at the highest levels. Ghimire is enabling great things as the founder of the Cricket Association of the Blind-Nepal (CAB Nepal).

CAB Nepal is an inspirational story because it is proving how citizens living with disabilities can equally achieve very ambitious goals. In the specific case of the Blind Women’s T20 World Cup, they are proving they can do even better. To be fair, mainstream news outlets published pictures of the Nepal women’s national blind cricket team, which is a good practice. In addition, the team was received by Prime Minister Sushila Karki.

This is indeed an important acknowledgement, but more space should have been given to the success story, that is, literally, the biggest ever achievement obtained by a national sports team. Nepal is the runner-up in a global competition won by India with a very slim margin, meaning that the country was really close to sealing a victory.

Yet no matter the hype, there were huge challenges to overcome to be able to play in Sri Lanka. Ghimire shared with me that he encountered numerous challenges ranging from player selection, finding a coach, securing a proper ground to play and acquiring funds to meet the other requirements. Unimaginable is the fact that the federal government did not even support the travel costs. Initially, the World Cup was scheduled to be held in Nepal, but after the Gen Z movement, it was shifted to Sri Lanka, and we were forced to start from scratch.

Ghimire shared some recommendations that, if implemented, could lead many adaptive sports to the highest levels. First, the government should honour visually impaired cricket players with equal recognition like the general players. Second, the government should make sports infrastructure accessible for persons with disabilities. It would be better if they provided land where inclusive sports venues could be constructed. This would help to reduce tensions among the many disability sports organisations that are forced to search for venues to practice. Finally, better results could be achieved if persons with disabilities could get the opportunity to play from childhood through a structured support system.

It is not only blind cricket

There are other adaptive sports in the country, starting from wheelchair basketball, where Nepal has the elements that could potentially lead to success at international levels. It is unfortunate that Nepal’s women’s national blind cricket team had to struggle to find a proper venue to practice. The lack of a proper court, together with a lack of effective coaching skills in the country, are some of the biggest factors that conditioned Nepal’s performance at the end and its loss to India. According to Ghimire, the Nepali team suffered a lack of confidence in the final game, and this resulted from a lack of practice and proper coaching. Let’s not forget that India is a rich country and their team was in a closed training camp for the last three months, which was instrumental in enhancing skills and building confidence to win the world.

In addition, the Nepal team, the runner-up World Champions, did not receive any financial award from the Government. At least, the Cricket Association of Nepal did its part by recognising the whole team with a cash prize of Rs1 million. CAB is also topping this with a Rs20,000 check for each player, a small amount but symbolically very important.

This brings us to question: Why isn’t the federal government stepping up the way it should? According to Annexe 4 of the Sports Development Regulation (Second Edition), 2082 BS, each cricket player securing a first runner-up position at a World Cup event is entitled to Rs2.6 million. It is an injustice that the members of the Nepal women’s national blind cricket team are not receiving equal treatment. It is not only disrespectful but also outrageous that such discrimination still exists.

Any sport is a great equaliser in society and a platform that can help bring down the walls of discrimination that millions of citizens living with disabilities are forced to face day in and day out. But it is also an art and a show, and when an athlete living with disabilities is among the best in the world, it should not be just an issue of dignity and human rights. It should become, instead, a matter of recognising excellence and ability to perform at the top levels.

It is not only the NPL that makes millions of citizens proud, but also these incredible young women athletes. They should be appreciated and valued for their hard work. We are literally talking of national heroines and heroes, and at the very least, the government and Nepali Army should celebrate and recognise them as such.