The Nepali women’s cricket team did not have an easy time while hosting two ODI-status teams—the Netherlands and Thailand—in a T20I tri-series in January-February this year. Nepal lost all six games—thrice each to the two opponents—in the league stage, which was played in a double round-robin format.

Nepal lost the matches against the two higher ranking teams despite playing good cricket, say the team’s coach and captain. They assure not to let the losing streak continue in Eastern Africa.

“The trip to Uganda will be to win,” coach Manoj Katwal told the Post when he and his team arrived at the Mulpani-based office of the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) for the farewell on Wednesday.

Katwal is leading a 14-member squad to Uganda for a quadrangular series titled Women’s Day Cup-2025. After a farewell in Mulpani, the team directly headed to Tribhuvan International Airport and off to Uganda. Nepal and Uganda will be accompanied by Hong Kong and Namibia in the tournament.

“Currently, the craze for women’s cricket is growing. The tri-series with Thailand and the Netherlands proved it,” CAN Secretary Paras Khadka said, addressing the team at the farewell ceremony. “Your results matter, but do not get pressured. We believe in you, you have been doing well. Women’s cricket is improving and we will do everything we can.”

Nepal’s preparation

On February 18, CAN called 18 players for a closed camp to train for the series in Uganda. In less than 15 days, on March 2, CAN announced a final 14-member squad dropping four players—Manisha Kumari Upadhayay, Sabnam Rai, Seemana KC and Shova Rokaya—from the initial squad.

Speaking at the farewell programme, head coach Katwal said the players have been busy with cricket for quite some time now and it has improved their game. “We have been training well,” Katwal said. “We lost the series against Thailand and the Netherlands despite playing good cricket. Yet, the tournament was beneficial.”

Katwal sees the upcoming series in Uganda as an opportunity to uplift the women’s team, which is on an eight-game losing streak. “Our opponents in Uganda will not be as tough as Thailand and the Netherlands,” he said. “Thus, we plan to play good cricket and win the tournament.”

Similarly, skipper Indu Barma also appeared confident that her team can win the Uganda series. “We have been analysing and studying the conditions and pitches in Uganda,” she said. “We are going to play good cricket, guide each other, and win the series.”

Moreover, Katwal and Barma highlighted the addition of Monika, the women’s team’s strength and conditioning coach, as a major boost.

“The lack of top-notch fitness has been affecting our game somehow. But with the entry of physical trainer Monika, we are looking forward to mitigating the problem,” Katwal told the Post.

“It has not even been a week since Monika started training the players. But they have already started improving. This will also reduce the rate of run outs and our players will start hitting big.”

Previous encounters

Neither host Uganda nor Hong Kong are new opponents for Nepal, but it will be the first time that the women’s team will face Namibia in T20Is. Nepal opens the quadrangular series facing Namibia on March 8.

Uganda travelled to Nepal for a five-game T20I series in 2022 while Nepal and Hong Kong have faced one another several times across multiple tournaments.

While coach Katwal and skipper Barma argued they are the favourites to win the series, Nepal’s previous results and the opponents’ improvement leave room for concern.

In May 2022, Nepal hosted Uganda in a five-match T20I series in the Kirtipur-based Tribhuvan International Cricket Ground; it was the first time that the two teams played against one another. The host lost the first three games and the series but prevented a clean sweep by winning the last two fixtures. Since then, Uganda has improved further.

For instance, in 2024, Uganda defeated the USA in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier and lifted the Kwibuka Women’s T2o Tournament besting seven opponents, including Zimbabwe’s A team.

Four Nepali players who played against Uganda in 2022—Indu, Rubina, Bindu and Kabita Joshi—have been included in the current squad.

Meanwhile, Nepal and Hong Kong have met seven times since 2019. Nepal won four of those games and got defeated three times. Hong Kong had also travelled to the Netherlands in June last year for a four-game T20I series; they lost all four games.

“Our team is balanced with experienced and young players,” Katwal told the Post. “We are confident but we have not underestimated the opponents.”