Cricket is one of the youngest sports in Nepal. It is also one of the most beloved. This bat-and-ball game has helped the country earn more recognition on the global stage than perhaps any other sport. And it has not been easy for the country to make a mark in the cricketing world, especially when many of the world’s heavyweights in the sport are concentrated in South Asia.

Like many other sports, cricket also found its way into Nepal through India. Madan Shumsher is credited with having introduced cricket in Nepal around the 1920s, influenced by the Britishers in India.

From being played solely for recreational purposes by the aristocrats of the Rana regime to cricketers today becoming household names, the game has come a long way in the country.

With the fall of the tyrannical Rana regime and the introduction of democracy in 1951, cricket was accessible to every Nepali citizen, the Cricket Association of Nepal, the game’s governing body in the country, states in its website. “Aided by the introduction of radio technology and television technology, Nepal’s close diplomatic ties and cultural similarities with India meant that cricket spread over a larger portion of the population.”

By 1951, India had been free from British rule for about four years. Today, India celebrates its 79th Independence Day. Post-independence, cricket spread to Nepali towns close to the Indian border such as Biratnagar, Bhairahawa, and Janakpur. It took a while until wannabes swinging bats and balls at the narrow gallis in urban centres such as Kathmandu and Pokhara became a common sight.

Today, cricket is emerging as one of the most prominent cornerstones of public diplomacy between the two countries.

Cricket diplomacy in full swing

Nepal and India formalised their diplomatic relations on June 17, 1947. Since then, the two countries have cooperated in defence and security, connectivity and development, energy, economic and commercial, education and culture sectors.

India now wants to strengthen its ties with Nepal through sport diplomacy. “Sport diplomacy, in particular, cricket, is an emerging area of collaboration between India and Nepal,” the Embassy of India states in its website.

In fact, during his visit to Kathmandu in January last year, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met CAN officials, congratulated Nepal for qualifying for the 2024 T20 World Cup, and pledged all possible help for Nepali cricket.

Since Jaishankar’s visit and assurance, Nepali cricket has received significant attention from India.

In April 2024, Nepal’s senior men’s team were invited for a friendly series—termed as the SMS Friendship Cup—with teams of Baroda and Gujarat at the Sai Meghpan Sportslife (SMS) Ground in Vapi, India. It was an important event for the Rhinos as it worked as preparation for the ACC Men’s Premier Cup, which kicked off between 10 teams in less than two weeks in Oman.

Moreover, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) invited the Nepali national cricket team to the Bangalore-based National Cricket Academy (NCA) for a training camp in August last year. For this gesture, the CAN thanked Jaishankar, then BCCI general secretary Jay Shah and the Indian Embassy. The NCA, once a training ground for legends of the game such as Mohammad Kaif, Yubraj Singh and Virat Kohli, hosted a 20-member Nepali squad again for a two-week camp that concluded on August 8.

“BCCI put together a fantastic facility, a centre of excellence, to have world-class cricket pitches, nets, indoor and rehab facilities, etc,” Nepal’s head coach Stuart Law told HamroKhelkud recently. “The cricket we played [at NCA] was good,” the coach added after his players underwent examination at the newly established Sports Science and Research Centre in Lalitpur last Thursday.

Law stated that the team was unable to play competitive matches during their stay due to the Duleep Trophy and local T20 tournaments underway in India. “But it was beneficial for us to get outside and do some good cricket,” he added.

When the Indian Cricket Team posted a short video of Nepal’s senior side’s training at NCA on August 12, thousands of Nepalis expressed gratitude in the comment section.

Similarly, in April, BCCI assisted the preparation for the Nepal women’s team, who were getting ready for the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup’s Asia Qualifier in May. The women’s team played three friendlies with Delhi Women and two with RP Cricket Academy in Delhi before travelling to Thailand for the Asian qualifier.

The women’s team went on to deliver one of their best performances in Thailand and qualify for their first-ever Global Qualifier for the T20 World Cup, which Nepal is hosting in January-February next year.

In March this year, Delhi’s U19 team arrived in Birgunj for a three-match series with Nepal’s youngsters; the tournament was fully funded by India. It was a preparation for the U19 World Cup Qualifier hosted in Mulpani grounds in April.

Stating that youngsters are the foundation for a strong senior side, the Indian Embassy also funded the training of three young cricketers—Naren Bhatta, Shahil Patel and Puja Mahato—at the LB Shastri Cricket Shaala in Bhopal, India, from July 15 to August 14.

The year 2025, with still over four months remaining, has witnessed significant Indian assistance for the development of Nepali cricket. Nepali fans have welcomed this important Indian gesture. This, however, is not a recent phenomenon. India, in fact, has always been generous when it comes to supporting the development of the ‘gentleman’s game’ in Nepal.

Extended partnership

“From helping the construction of the home of Nepali cricket, the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, in the mid-1990s, Indian authorities have been at the forefront in helping Nepali cricket,” Binaya Raj Pandey, former president of CAN, told the Post.

The TU Cricket Ground, once a football field, was transformed after India’s Zee TV sought a neutral venue for India-Pakistan matches in 1992, recalls Pandey, who was CAN’s general secretary from 1995 to 2002 and president from 2005 to 2010.

“India always accepted our requests regarding cricket,” Pandey adds. “Nepal’s team trained in Bangalore and other parts of India in the 2000s, especially from 2008 to 2011. As the sport was not an interest to the media then, such events were not reported properly. Amid limited funding by ICC and ACC, Nepal would not have had a proper foundation of cricket without the support of South Asian countries, especially India.”

Pandey stressed that, alongside the BCCI, the cricket boards of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka have also provided support to Nepali cricket in the past and continue to do so from time to time.

“CAN and Zee Sports organised the Tempo World Legends Cup at TU Ground in 1998/99 between three teams, in which Kapil Dev led India Masters, Abdul Qadir led Pakistan Masters, and Deryck Murray led World Masters,” Pandey recalls. “MS Dhoni also came to Nepal in 2012 and was appointed goodwill ambassador for Nepal cricket by the government. It all suggests Nepali cricket was on the priority radar of India.”

Pandey also informed that Nepal played unofficial games with Test nations before, historic achievements which have failed to be documented properly.

“We can gain more from cricket heavyweights concentrated in South Asia,” Pandey says. “We need to improve our connections with them.”

Sharing of cricketing culture

Durga Nath Subedi, an ICC umpire of Nepal, says his generation was exposed to international cricket through Doordarshan, India’s state-owned public television broadcaster.

“When there was no dish and cable connection, only antennas, Doordarshan was there,” says Subedi, who is also the immediate past president of Nepal Sports Journalists Forum (NSJF). “I remember watching the 1992 World Cup on the channel and learning more about cricket. Doordarshan led many Nepalis to fall in love with Indian cricket.”

Likewise, some big names in Nepali cricket honed their skills in India. Shakti Gauchan, Sompal Kami and Karan KC learned cricket in India while their parents worked there.

“India’s cricketing culture was at a different level then,” Gauchan, who was then a strong candidate for the underage category of the Indian national team, told the Post. “There were many opportunities and high competition.”

Gauchan later went on to represent Nepal’s junior and senior teams in numerous international matches, including Nepal’s first T20 World Cup in 2014.

“I was called back to my home country by Jagat guru [coach Jagat Tamata] to play for Nepal, a chance I did not miss,” Gauchan recalls. “The way cricket has now flourished in Nepal at such a short period was unimaginable in those days.”

Before 2010, cricket’s popularity in Nepal was mostly limited to communities near the border areas.

“When I came back to Nepal, I did not have enough friends to even make up a team,” KC, who is now a regular in the current national team, told the Post. “Now, cricket is one of the most loved games in the country. Seeing it, while being a part of it, is a moment to cherish.”

Gauchan and KC say that Nepali cricket could reach greater heights if cricket knowledge-sharing is increased with the South Asian neighbours, especially the more accessible and supportive India.