Nepali cricket has scaled new heights in the past few years. Nepal have pushed heavyweights like South Africa and England to the brink at T20 cricket’s grandest stage, the T20 World Cup. The Nepal Premier League has seen remarkable success, drawing global cricketing stars to Kirtipur ground. The popularity around the gentleman’s game has been only growing in the country.

Despite this rapid rise, however, the country’s cricketing scene has been beset by some structural anomalies. One of them is the questions that arise frequently over player selection in both national and domestic teams.

The latest controversy emerged on Tuesday after Karnali Province bowler Anuj Chanara announced his decision to part ways with the provincial side, citing years of unfair treatment.

Chanara, 20, has represented Karnali Province in both the senior and U19 sides for around six years. He was the first cricketer from Karnali to reach the national team’s camp. He was also called for the camp of the national U19 side.

A right-arm medium pacer, Chanara has been playing for Karnali in the Men’s PM Cup, Nepal’s premier one-day cricket tournament, since the fifth edition in 2022. And on Tuesday, Chanara said that he was a victim of injustice.

At 9am on Tuesday, Karnali were on TB Shah Cricket Ground in Birgunj, batting first against Gandaki in what was their last league-stage game of the eighth edition of the Men’s PM Cup.

Some minutes before the match kicked off, Chanara, who was not included in the playing squad, posted a status on Facebook and said that, from now on, he would not play for Karnali. He stated that his decision was a result of not being included in the team despite performing well.

“I took four wickets and gave away only 29 runs in the 10 overs I bowled against Nepal Police Club in the previous edition of the Men’s PM Cup,” Chanara wrote on Facebook. “Karnali’s first match of the recent edition against Lumbini was cancelled due to rain. In the next match, against Sudurpashchim, I bagged two wickets and gave 33 runs in five overs.”

Chanara continued, “After that, I got a spell of two to three overs in the next two games, where I went wicketless. Then, I was not included in the team for three matches. But after getting an opportunity against Police, I took two wickets and gave 35 runs in six overs. Now, I have been left out of the match against Gandaki today.”

Karnali were bundled out at 72 by Gandaki, who chased the low target with 37 overs and nine wickets to spare on Tuesday.

Chanara also revealed that he had questioned the selection basis to the coach as well as the captain of Karnali. In response, Chanara said he was told: It was a spin track.

Further, he said that his captain, Diwan Pun, replied, “I follow the orders that come from above.”

When the Post reached out to Pun to seek his comment on the blame, he said, “Anuj spoke out of frustration. He was left out based on the team’s requirement in the specific match. And in matches he played, it was not possible to give him 10 overs every time.”

Pun and Chanara were roommates during the Men’s PM Cup. “Anuj had spoken to me about it previously as well. And I had told him that there were no dubious reasons for not letting him play sufficiently,” Pun told the Post.

There are no specific standards regarding players’ selection by the domestic teams. The provincial and departmental teams have their respective process of identifying players for the team and selecting players for a game.

But with no proper regulations, Chanara’s concern could not be overlooked.

“It is something that demands attention because such incidents should not happen,” said Pun. “The management is discussing it.”

But it is not only the domestic cricket scene of Nepal that has suffered criticism for biased selection. The selection process for the senior national team has also been questioned every now and then.

The second season of the Nepal Premier League, which took place in November-December last year, was expected to be a basis of selection for the senior men’s team as Nepal prepared for the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka in February.

Veteran batter Binod Bhandari, who was performing well for Sudurpashchim Royals, took a dig at the selection process.

Bhandari had come to the post-match press conference after Sudurpashchim defeated Lumbini by seven wickets on November 27 last year. Bhandari was the player of the match for his unbeaten 69 off 49 in the chase.

“Who said it?” Bhandari said. “None of the top five batters from the 2025 Men’s PM Cup in March were included in the senior squad after the tournament.”

Bhandari, who has represented Nepal in 40 T20Is and 17 ODIs since his T20I debut in Nepal’s maiden T20 World Cup in 2014, added, “Even though I had a good time in the recent PM Cups and the inaugural NPL last year, I was not even called for the closed camp. That’s why I don’t think this NPL is also a base for selecting the team for the upcoming T20 World Cup.”

Bhandari’s statement circulated across social media, with many users raising questions about the selection process.

Bhandari once again got the spotlight over the same issue after a stellar performance on Monday and a Facebook post by former cricketer Hari Shankar Sah.

Sah, who played for the Central Development Region and Madhesh Province in the Men’s PM Cup from 2017 to 2025, had shared a Cricket Association of Nepal’s post regarding Bhandari reaching the 150-run mark against Koshi on Monday.

“Does age matter? Please make it clear! If not let fitness and performance only be the criteria,” Sah wrote, mentioning the governing body of Nepali cricket.

While APF’s Aasif Sheikh stole the limelight on Monday after becoming the first player to score a double century in the Men’s PM Cup, Bhandari, who plays for Tribhuvan Army Club, smashed 189 off 150 against Koshi in Janakpur.

Bhandari was called for the closed camp after the second NPL but was not selected in the final squad.

As concerns over players’ selection continue to persist, CAN said that the process was regulated properly.

“Such concerns get popular on social media. But it is not the true scenario,” Paras Khadka, CAN’s secretary, told the Post. “Regarding the senior men’s team, we have selectors who pick players based on their performances during the international as well as domestic tournaments.”

Khadka denied accusations that players were not selected on a merit basis. “It is not true,” he said.

“There are many cricketers in the country right now. And they give their all to perform better than others,” said Khadka. “It is normal for those who do not make it to the senior team to get frustrated… The national team always looks forward to accommodating the best players available.”

Strict action would be taken if CAN finds out that the players are not being selected on a merit basis, Khadka said.

Despite Khadka’s claims of impartial selection, however, debates around the selection process are likely to surface again as Nepal are set to reveal their squad for a two-match T20I series against the UAE. The first match between the arch-rivals will take place under the floodlights at the TU International Cricket Stadium in Kathmandu on Monday.