“I am lacking confidence,” Gulshan Kumar Jha said after Nepal lost to the West Indies by nine wickets in the 2026 T20 World Cup at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, India, on February 15. His performance at the World Cup was underwhelming.

In about three months, however, the 20-year-old all-rounder has made a spectacular turnaround. On Tuesday, he pulled off a match-winning five-wicket haul in a must-win match for Nepal at the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur. Nepal defeated Oman by 81 runs and ended the ICC CWC League-2 tri-series, comprising the UAE, with three wins in four matches.

“You know I was struggling for some time now,” Jha said during the post-match presentation after he was given the match ball by Minister for Youth and Sports Sasmit Pokharel. “I want to dedicate this to my father, mother and coaching staff for their continuous belief in me.”

Nepal, electing to bat first, posted 256 in 49.5 overs. Aasif Sheikh scored 94 off 97, Arjun Kumal contributed 48 off 87, and Dipendra Singh Airee scored 33 off 42, while Aarif Sheikh, with three consecutive sixes in the last over, smashed 43 off 24.

Nepal’s skipper Rohit Kumar Paudel had projected a score of around 280 runs while deciding to bat first. But the target of 257 did not feel easily defendable against Oman, the team that scored 305/8 in the first match of the tri-series against Nepal on April 29.

However, once the first wicket fell for Oman on Tuesday, it did not stop.

Nandan Yadav gave the first relief to Nepal after getting the dangerous Jatinder Singh (12 off 19), Oman’s captain, caught out in the seventh over. When Oman defeated the hosts by 102 runs last week, Singh had smashed his second ODI ton against Nepal.

The second wicket came in the eighth over when Yadav got Siddharth Bukkapatnam run out for a duck. And then Jha began his hunt.

From picking his first wicket by getting Hasnain Ul Wahab (29 off 43) caught out in 12.4 overs, Jha completed his five-wicket haul, his second in ODIs, by getting Hassnain Shah (14 off 10) caught out in 36.4 overs. Jha’s other victims were Aryan Bisht (6 off 17), Jiten Ramanandi (3 off 5) and Vinayak Shukla (36 off 41).

Along with five wickets, Jha gave 38 runs in his nine-over spell, which is now his best individual bowling figure in one-day internationals.

Coincidentally, Jha’s previous five-wicket haul (5-47) was also against Oman during the ongoing League-2 cycle (2023-2026) on September 18, 2024. But Nepal had lost that match by one wicket.

And since Nepal struggled in the first phase of League-2, the Rhinos are desperate for wins now.

With the win over Oman on Tuesday, Nepal have 18 points in 24 games and are stagnant at seventh position among eight teams in the points table. They are 18 points behind top-placed USA (36 points in 24 matches) and 10 points behind fourth-placed Netherlands (28 points in 24 matches).

Law and his side are aiming for the top four spots by the time each of the eight teams complete their 36 matches. They will resume their League-2 campaign within a week when Nepal host the USA and second-placed Scotland (34 points in 28 matches) at TU Ground from May 12.

The last time Nepal won three of the four matches in a tri-series of the ongoing League-2 cycle was when the Rhinos defeated hosts Scotland twice and the Netherlands once, in Dundee, in June last year.

And the win over Oman on Tuesday is expected to be a major boost to Law’s men as they aim for a miraculous campaign up ahead.

Jha’s comeback

Ahead of Nepal’s fixture against Scotland, Nepal’s consultant coach Nic Pothas, during the pre-match press conference, had dismissed concerns over Jha’s wavering confidence. He instead framed the slump as a vital developmental hurdle.

“When you have got a guy like Gulshan, who’s a phenomenal cricketer, he’s a young guy, for him I think it’s a case of making some notes, making some mental notes of what he has learned from this World Cup so that he can move forward,” Pothas replied to the Post’s concern over Jha losing confidence. “That’s the only way people get better.”

Jha is young, but he has had his moments with the Nepali senior team that earned him a spot now and then. It was Jha’s 43rd ODI for the Rhinos on Tuesday. A former national U19 player, Jha has represented Nepal in 57 T20Is already.

And it seemed Jha had taken Pothas’ suggestion seriously. He kept fighting and improving despite dissatisfactory performances even after the T20 World Cup.

Jha, an all-rounder who bowls with the right arm and bats left-handed, was one of the few players who started in every group stage game of the T20 World Cup.

Stuart Law, who was aware of Jha’s struggle with confidence, did not use Jha’s bowling skills. Jha did not bowl a single over at Wankhede.

Jha seemed to have been given the role with the bat only. But when he departed early in his first match, and the scenario continued to repeat, he spoke out after the match against the West Indies.

He had departed at 1 off 2 against England, 3 off 4 against Italy, and 11 off 14 against the West Indies.

However, while Jha was losing self-confidence, Law did not stop believing in him. Jha started in Nepal’s last group-stage game of the 2026 T20 World Cup, against Scotland on February 17.

The match against Scotland was important. Thousands of fans who had travelled hundreds to thousands of miles to support the Rhinos at Wankhede wanted to celebrate at least one win. And the Rhinos wanted to give it to them.

Jha too wanted to play a key part in the win over Scotland, which would have been Nepal’s win at a T20 World Cup after 12 years. But as he was losing confidence—getting disappointed at his performances—Jha’s impact in the game was questionable.

Further, Jha was certain to be under extra pressure against Scotland as the day of the match—February 17—was his birthday. Jha was about to turn 20.

Thus, there were many eyes locked on Jha when the birthday boy came to bat against Scotland after Nepal lost their third wicket in 13.2 overs with 73 runs to win.

And Jha silenced the critics as he stood tall after hitting the winning runs as Nepal won by seven wickets. He hit the second ball of the last over for a four and stayed not out at 24 off 17 with Dipendra Singh Airee (50 off 23).

After the win, Jha joined his hands and leaned forward to thank fans for their continuous support, suggesting that he would now resume strengthening his self-belief.

He kept focusing on the positives despite 1 off 7 against the UAE in the friendly T20I on April 20 and wicketless in the second friendly on April 21. He got dropped in the first League-2 tri-series against the UAE on April 25, and scored 14 against Oman in his return on April 29.

He then showed promise with 44 runs against the UAE on May 1.

For Jha, Tuesday was more than a five-wicket haul—it was proof that belief, once shaken, can return stronger. And as Nepal chase an unlikely top-four finish in League-2, the resurgence of one of their most promising all-rounders could prove just as important as any victory. It was Nepal’s first League-2 win over Oman at TU Ground after three consecutive defeats.

And the whole team knew how important it was for Jha, who was asked to lead the handshakes after the end of the match.