Nepal eye title as women’s team heads to Rwanda for T20I Challenge Trophy
The team has spent sufficient time with new head coach Harshal Pathak. With skipper Indu Barma back from injury, Nepal aim to win the title. Nepal women’s team was bid farewell by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) in Kathmandu on Wednesday. Courtesy of CAN
Nepal women’s team is leaving for Rwanda on Wednesday to compete in the ICC Women’s T20I Challenge Trophy, with the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) bidding a farewell for the squad.
The inaugural edition of the T20I Challenge Trophy at the Land of a Thousand Hills features five teams—Rwanda, Nepal, the USA, Italy and Vanuatu—playing a double round-robin league. The team with the most points will be crowned the champion.
The team, which has spent nearly four months under head coach Harshal Jayant Pathak, is aiming to win the title.
Pathak assumed his post as the head coach of Nepali women’s cricket on December 23 last year, and was immediately handed a tough assignment as Nepal hosted the Global Qualifier for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in January.
Nepal lost three of their four group stage matches—against Thailand, the Netherlands and Scotland—and got knocked out early. However, their victory over Zimbabwe marked a milestone as it was Nepal women’s first win against a full-member side, signalling signs of progress.
Concerns resurfaced after Nepal suffered defeats to Pakistan ‘A’, India ‘A’ and the UAEin the Women’s Asia Cup Rising Teams tournament in Bangkok in February.
The opponents were not easy in the Asian tournament. And Pathak had spent not even two months with the Nepali squad by then. Further, the defeats were also attributed to the lack of a key player: Nepal’s all-time leading run scorer and captain Indu Barma.
Barma sustained a Grade II Hamstring Strain during the match against Scotland in the Global Qualifier on January 26. CAN had later informed that Barma would be sidelined for eight to 12 weeks. Now, Barma has returned to the team, and she says she is “fit and fine now”.
Barma also believes that the team has improved, and the players are looking forward to starting the Nepali New Year on a high note after winning the tournament in Rwanda.
“Previously, we could not cope with pressure situations effectively. Now, everyone is grooming each other, especially youngsters,” Barma said after the farewell function in Kathmandu on Wednesday. “Overall, we are positive. The roles of players are set. I believe everyone will fulfill their responsibility.”
Barma credited much of the improvements in the team to head coach Pathak, who believes the players have given their best in the training.
“We have prepared a lot on the tactical aspects of the game, especially batting and bowling,” Pathak told journalists. “We have made a lot of effort in our fielding, which has been one point we wanted to improve.”
“Game awareness was a top priority…we had a few scenario-based practices. We put them under pressure repeatedly,” Pathak added. “We will definitely do well in Rwanda.”
The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the Challenge Trophy in November last year in a bid to promote Associate members.
“The Challenge trophy will feature the top team from the five ICC development regions—Africa, Americas, Asia, East Asia Pacific and Europe—who are not part of the Emerging Nations Trophy, identified through their regional qualifying events,” the ICC stated.
Nepal could not make it to the Emerging Nations Trophy, a tournament played by the top eight Associates, of which five had ODI status while the other three were the highest-ranked teams in ICC Women’s T20I rankings by May 1 last year.
As of now, Nepal are considered the highest-ranked team among the participants in the upcoming tournament.
As of April 11, Nepal are ranked 21st in the ICC Women’s T20I Rankings. Italy, the USA and Rwanda are 23rd, 24th and 25th, respectively. Vanuatu are the lowest-ranked at 30th.
“We are heading to Rwanda a bit early to get acclimatised to the conditions there,” Barma said. “We are also analysing our opponents regularly. We are leaving with a certainty: we will return as winners.”
Nepal will face the USA, Italy, Rwanda and Vanuatu on April 18, 19, 22 and 24, respectively. Nepal will again meet the USA, Rwanda, Vanuatu and Italy on April 26, 28, 30 and May 1, respectively.
Nepal’s squad: Indu Barma (captain), Puja Mahato (vice-captain), Bindu Rawal, Samjhana Khadka, Rubi Poddar, Kabita Joshi, Riya Sharma, Roma Thapa, Kabita Kunwar, Suman Bist, Anu Kadayat, Manisha Upadhyaya, Rubina Chhetry and Rachana Chaudhary
Nayak Paudel covers sports for The Kathmandu Post. He previously worked at the Post (2018–19) and spent over five years at The Rising Nepal. His reporting spans crime, health, education, and social issues.
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