September 27, 29 and 30—these three dates will be etched into the history of Nepali cricket as three glorious days, remembered for Nepal’s first official T20I series with a full-member, the West Indies, a team that is also a two-time T20 World Cup champion.

Further, the three matches will be hosted by the iconic Sharjah Cricket Stadium, the ground that has hosted the most number of one-day internationals, in the UAE.

With Nepali cricket showing promise by putting up a great fight against the world heavyweights, the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) had been trying to make this series a reality for a long time.

“Our former head coach Monty Desai worked as a batting consultant for the West Indies. When he was in Nepal, he managed communication between CAN and Cricket West Indies,” CAN’s secretary Paras Khadka said in an interview with Hamro Khelkud in Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

“The Future Tour Programme (FTP) of full members is very tight, including that of the West Indies, who are synonymous with T20 cricket. But we kept requesting a series in their window, citing that we could manage and fulfil the requirements. At last, they trusted us.”

“This series is of great importance for us. It was expensive to host this series here in Sharjah as our TU International Cricket Ground is getting into shape,” Khadka added. “But we have seen this as an investment. An investment for the future of Nepali cricket.”

This historical series was also in sight for the Nepali fans when the A team of the Caribbean side toured Nepal for a five-match T20 series in April last year. Then, the Rhinos showed that they were ready for a bigger challenge by registering two wins in five games.

Two months later, Nepal came close to defeating South Africa, losing by only one run, in the T20 World Cup match played at Arnos Vale Ground in Kingstown, West Indies. The hosts could not keep their eyes off Nepal after that.

Similarly, the arrival of Brian Charles Lara, one of the best to have ever graced the gentleman’s game, in Kathmandu to witness the inaugural season of the Nepal Premier League in December last year also showed that cricket diplomacy between the two sides has been strengthening.

In a video message for the Unity Cup, the three-match T20 series between Nepal and the West Indies, Lara said, “It has not been a year yet since I visited Nepal… a cricketing nation that is rising very quickly in our world.”

He added, “Now you are coming up against the West Indies. I do not know where my heart is because I love your country. But I do want to wish you and your entire team all the very best. It is so important that the younger nations in our cricketing world get the opportunity to play against the best.”

To unite Nepal once again

Nepal has had its highs, and equally have Nepalis suffered the lows.

Currently, Nepal is recovering from a major revolt of September 8-9 by youths. It was due to the two-day demonstration that the CAN named the series against the West Indies ‘Unity Cup’.

“We believe in the power of sports to unite hearts and inspire a nation,” CAN wrote on its social media. “Unity Cup is our call to heal and rejuvenate with passion and harmony to forge a stronger bond to bring everyone together.”

Even the great Brian Lara feels the same. “Now I know your country at present is going through a little bit of a difficult time, a transitional period,” Lara said in his message. “But I know the love and resilience that your people have is gonna see it through. I wish you all the very best with that as well.”

Similarly, Nepal’s skipper Rohit Kumar Paudel has stressed that the Rhinos are looking forward to bringing smiles back to the Nepalis.

“Recently, the condition of the country has not been so good,” Paudel said in a short video interview published by CAN. “It has added another responsibility on 15 of us players to make all Nepalis happy. We will be giving our 100 percent as we face the West Indies.”

Paudel has also called Nepali cricket fans in the UAE and the Middle East region to reach the stadium if possible and cheer for them. “If we get fans in the stadium as we do in [the] TU Ground and as we did in the USA during the T20 World Cup last year, it is going to be extra motivation for us.”

Paudel has requested those who are away and unable to reach the stadium to tune in through digital platforms. Kantipur Max is broadcasting the matches. Ireland’s Andrew Leonard, the cricket commentator whom Nepalis cherish as ‘taklu dai’, will be joining Ian Bishop, a former player and renowned commentator, in the series.

Nepal’s head coach Stuart Law, who is looking to take Nepal to another World Cup by qualifying through the qualifier in Oman in October, also believes that his team can do the unthinkable at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.