The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has bid farewell to the Nepalese national women’s cricket team, which is going to Malaysia to prepare for the 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier.
The Nepalese team was bid farewell at the office of Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) in Mulpani on Wednesday.
CAN executive secretary Durgaraj Pathak and treasurer Roshan Bahadur Singh bid farewell to the players. Nepal is playing the Asia Qualifier of the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup in Malaysia from August 31 to September 9.
The Nepali women’s team is going to play a Quadrangular T20I series in Malaysia to prepare for the same selection. Nepal will compete in the series with Kuwait and Hong Kong along with home team Malaysia. The series will be held from 22nd to 26th August at Bayuemas Oval.
The top-ranked team in the five-day series will play in the finals. The remaining two teams are scheduled to play for the third place. Nepal will play the first match against Hong Kong on August 22 and the second match against Kuwait on August 23.
Nepal is scheduled to face home team Malaysia on August 25 after a day’s rest. The final match will be held on August 26. CAN announced a 14-member Nepali team under the captaincy of Rubina Chhetry for the Asia Qualifiers of the T20 World Cup.
Rubina’s Nepali team was announced only last Thursday from the initial team under the training of Indian coach Devika Palshikar. Khushi Dangol, Rubi Poddar and Puja Mahato have made it to the national team for the first time.
The other members of the team are Sita Rana magar, Indu Barma, Bindu Rawal, Kabita Kunwar, Kabita Joshi, Samjhana Khadka, Ishwori Bista, Kajol Shrestha, Apsari Begum and Asmina Karmacharya.
Rubina Chhetry, the captain of the Nepali women’s cricket team, is confident that the team is well-prepared for the upcoming T-20 series in Malaysia. She said that the team has been practicing indoors as well as outdoors, and she believes that the experience of playing in a T-20 series will help them to improve their skills. She is also excited about the fact that CAN has appointed a foreign coach to help the team with their batting, and she is confident that this will be a valuable asset.
She also expressed hope that the upcoming T-20 series in Malaysia will help to identify new young players who can contribute to the team’s success. She is confident that the new coach, Devika Palshikar, will be able to help the team to develop new talent.
Sita Ranamagar, an experienced player of the Nepali women’s cricket team, is confident that the new coach has given each player a clear role to play in the team. She believes that this will help to improve the team’s communication and coordination, and that it will be a good preparation for the upcoming World Cup.
Sita Ranamagar also said that this World Cup qualifier is the last chance for captain Rubina Chhetri and herself, as they are both nearing the end of their careers. She is determined to make the most of this opportunity and help the team qualify for the World Cup.
The coach of the Nepali women’s cricket team, Samson Jung Thapa, is confident that the team will have a good chance of qualifying for the World Cup this time. He said that the team has been preparing well and is confident in their abilities.
Nepal Squad for ICC Women’s World T20 Asia Qualifier 2023 , Malaysia
Rubina Chhetry ( c )
Sita Rana Magar
Indu Barma
Bindu Rawal
Kabita Kunwar
Kabita Joshi
Puja Mahato
Samjhana Khadka
Ishwori Bista
Kajol Shrestha
Rubi Poddar
Apsari Begam
Asmina Karmacharya
Khushi Dangol
The tournament will be held in Malaysia from 31 August to 9 September, and the top 2 teams from the 11 participating teams will advance to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifier 2024.
Nepal is included in group ‘A’ along with Bahrain, Bhutan, Malaysia, Qatar, and UAE. Group ‘B’ consists of China, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Myanmar, and Thailand.
The top 2 teams in each group will advance to the semi-finals, and the 2 teams that reach the finals will reach the global qualifier 2024.
