Nepal’s head coach Stuart Law did not mince words when he spoke to journalists during the pre-match conference at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday. Nepal are playing against the West Indies on Sunday.

Citing the Rhinos’ 10-wicket defeat against Italy on Thursday, Law said that it was a ‘disappointing’ loss, especially after a great performance against heavyweights England. He then spoke about social media distraction on players and raised concerns over lack of multi-day cricket in the country.

“The greats of the game talked about Nepal and all after the match against England. That’s nice to hear, but we still need to remember that we lost,” Law said. “And to go from that high to an extreme low against Italy four days later, that’s not showing mental toughness, that’s not showing commitment to your team, your country, etc. We need to do better.”

Nepal had taken the match against England to the very last ball. The Rhinos fell short of four runs to a major upset, but it was an all-around encouraging performance against the two-time T20 World Cup champions.

However, four days later, against Italy, Nepal suffered a defeat they would never want to recall: a 10-wicket loss while going in as the favourites.

Law said that social media was one of the major concerns that Nepali players needed to address.

“We have got to work out why the gulf from the England game to the Italy game happened,” Law said. “I think if you ask the Nepali people in the room here, you will understand social media is a massive part of Nepali culture… To me, social media can be a huge distraction. If you are focusing on what you are doing in social media…you are distracted from your actual job: to play cricket.”

Law went on, “If you are in the World Cup, cricket is the important thing. If we keep winning games in cricket, your likes will go up anyway. You don’t need to keep showing your face… I am not on social media. I don’t see the positive impacts it will have, but there are negative impacts it will have. Number 1: they should focus on their cricket, not rest of the nonsense…I have said that to the boys today.”

As Law arrived at the Wankhede Stadium at around 10am local time on Saturday for the team’s training session, he went to see the pitch which was being prepared for their match against the West Indies on Sunday.

Nepal’s first two matches were at the central pitch, which was left unattended on Saturday.

“We can’t blame the pitch. If you are blaming the pitch, you are barking up the wrong tree again,” Law said. “We need to understand that it is going to be decent with the start of the game and it is going to be different at the back end. It has been the same since the day we came here.”

When asked if Nepal were benefitting or not from having all their matches at a single venue, an opportunity none of the other 19 participating teams have, Law said, “No disrespect to India, but we hope we were in Sri Lanka as there is a bit of turn consistently throughout the game.”

Law, however, said that Wankhede was good. “Having said that, to be here at the Wankhede, can’t complain about it,” he said.

“It [Wankhede] is a beautiful ground to play on in India and is one of the most iconic venues in world cricket. We are lucky to stay here because to travel to different venues could have been tiresome,” he added. “But they also say change is a holiday. It can freshen your mind. In different challenges, there are different ways of play. So, there are both pros and cons.”

As Nepal trained at Wankhede on Saturday from 10am to 1pm local time, one major face—skipper Rohit Kumar Paudel—was conspicuously absent. And when Law was asked about Paudel’s absence, he informed that he was sick.

“Fever and stomach issues, etc,” he said. “He had a fever last night, he took medicines, and he should be fine for tomorrow.”

Likewise, Law said that alongside the team’s inspiration from having taken South Africa to the edge in the previous World Cup, defeating the West Indies in a T20I series, and then making England sweat in the ongoing World Cup, Zimbabwe upsetting Australia, his home country, in Colombo on Friday would be another inspiration.

“Zimbabwe are a good side. They got a lot of basics covered as they have been playing a lot of cricket. They got experience, and a lot of knowledge,” he said. “Zimbabwe played a better game of cricket on the day and that’s what we can do as well.”

Law said that he likes it when an underdog comes out on top. “It is great for cricket. I like the underdog tag. You got a free shot, you got nothing to lose,” he added.

Even the West Indies believe that it is what makes Nepal an opponent to not be taken lightly.

Some minutes after Law’s press conference concluded, Akeal Hosein came in for the Caribbean side. “I don’t think Nepal has anything to lose. The stage of the World Cup for them is about coming here and showing the rest of the world that they can compete.”

“It is no big team or small team, at the end of the day, it is who plays best cricket on the day,” Hosein added. “We are not gonna treat them as we are coming up against Nepal, but as another World Cup match that we need to win.”

Hosein was the captain when the West Indies lost the T20I series in Sharjah 1-2 to Nepal in September last year. They also did not have a good time in the series against New Zealand, Afghanistan and South Africa before the T20 World Cup.

“We came into this World Cup with a couple of defeats. But I also think it is about peaking at the right time,” Hosein said. “And I feel like there are a couple of teams who have been quite successful for the last couple of months that are now struggling with their best XI.”

Hosein said that the losses were things of the past. “The World Cup is what matters, and we think we are heading in the right direction,” he added.

When the Post asked how he saw Nepal during Sharjah and the ongoing World Cup, Hosein replied, “I think they are a well gelled unit. They did defeat us in Sharjah but most of our seniors weren’t there, so it is a match we are looking forward to.”

“We know what they [Nepal] can do, what they are capable of. We saw it in the last couple of games. We know they are a tight team,” he said. “On the day, you have to play your best cricket. These guys really know the ins and outs. Players know how to play. So we are going to treat them as such.”

While the West Indies will be looking for a revenge, Nepal, especially Law, will be delighted to face the T20 heavyweights again.

Law, who coached the West Indies team for a couple of years since 2017, said that he has a special connection with the Caribbean side.

“My time with the West Indies was two of the best years of my life. The way they played, particularly T20 cricket, was special. They have got power,” Law recalled. “Instead of running for 1s and 2s, they prefer hitting sixes on the back end.”

While Law praised the West Indies’ game against England, which they won by 30 runs, he said it will be good seeing his former team tomorrow. “But hopefully, now we can get the better of them,” he said.

The match between Nepal and the West Indies kicks off at 11am local time, with the Wankhede Stadium expected to witness the biggest Nepali crowd so far.