Former Nepal captain Paras Khadka has revealed that he came close to retiring in 2018, when Nepal’s hopes of securing One-Day International (ODI) status nearly collapsed.

Khadka, one of Nepal’s most accomplished cricketers, retired from cricket on August 3, 2021. But more than three years earlier, he had feared that a defeat against Canada could bring his playing career to an end.

Speaking at a recent event, Khadka recalled Nepal’s World Cricket League Division Two match against Canada in Windhoek, Namibia, in February 2018. Nepal needed to win to advance to the World Cup Qualifier, but the team was on the verge of defeat. A loss would have kept Nepal in Division Two and dealt a major blow to its hopes of securing ODI status.

Chasing a target of 195, Nepal were struggling at 144 for nine. Then, on February 14, Karan KC produced a remarkable rescue act, scoring an unbeaten 42 off 31 balls, including three fours and four sixes, to guide Nepal to an improbable one-wicket victory.

KC and Sandeep Lamichhane added an unbeaten 51 runs for the last wicket. Lamichhane contributed five not out, while Karan led the charge to take Nepal over the line.

The victory sent Nepal into the 2018 World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe. Nepal subsequently beat Hong Kong in the tournament to secure ODI status.

Khadka captained Nepal during the Division Two campaign, in which he scored 241 runs, including a century and a half-century. He made an unbeaten 112 against the United Arab Emirates in the final. Against Canada, however, he was dismissed for a first-ball duck.

“I still remember the last-wicket partnership between Karan KC and Sandeep Lamichhane in 2018. Nepal had lost nine wickets for around 140 runs. At that point, I thought it would be the last match of my career,” Khadka said, recalling the Canada match.

 “For me and many others, it was our final attempt to secure ODI status. Had we failed to gain ODI status and remained in Division Two, that could have been the last match for many players of our generation.”

Khadka said KC and Lamichhane’s unbeaten last-wicket partnership took Nepal into the World Cup Qualifier. The team felt ODI status was within reach, he said, adding that Nepal’s cricketing history had often been shaped by last-minute victories and that they expected to come through in the decisive match.

Khadka retired from international cricket in August 2021. In 2023, he moved into cricket administration, becoming a member of the Kathmandu District Cricket Association before taking over as president of the Bagmati Province Cricket Association. He was subsequently elected secretary of the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN).

Khadka played 280 matches for Nepal across all formats. At the time of his retirement, he was widely regarded as the country’s most successful cricketer and captain. He scored more than 6,400 runs, including four centuries and 21 half-centuries, and took 221 wickets. He held nearly all of Nepal’s major batting records, and few Nepali players had matched his achievements.

He first captained Nepal at the ACC Twenty20 Cup in 2009. A decade later, he relinquished the captaincy following a five-nation T20 tournament in Oman.

Under his leadership, Nepal progressed through the World Cricket League divisions, rising from Division Five through Division Four and Division Three before eventually securing ODI status. He also led Nepal at the 2014 T20 World Cup in Bangladesh.

Nepal is now facing another fight to retain its ODI status, with its position among the top six teams in the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 standings uncertain.

Speaking at a Nepal Premier League (NPL) media clinic, Khadka said Nepali cricket had repeatedly achieved more than its capabilities might suggest.

“It is perhaps Nepal’s destiny in cricket that we have once again reached a point where everything comes down to the final match, the final wicket and the final ball,” he said.