The men’s national cricket team of Nepal are on their toes,gearing up for their first Quadrangular Twenty20 International cricket series of the year,taking place in Hong Kong from April 9. 

Hosts Hong Kong,Qatar and Kuwait are the other three teams competing against Nepal for the title. 

The competition marks the start of a hectic new season for Nepali cricketers who will be participating in various tournaments across the globe. 

Nepal’s opener is against Qatar on April 9th,followed by matches against Kuwait and Hong Kong. 

Right -handed batter Rohit Paudel has been retained as skipper and spearheads the team,which includes a handful of debutants. 

The youthful talented squad is a blend of highly experienced and upcoming players. U-19 players Nandan Yadav,Lokesh Bam and Basir Ahmad have got their big break to represent the senior team in international tournaments.While Shahab Alam has made a national team comeback. 

Two prominent names,leg spinner Sandeep Lamichhane and opening batter Anil Sah are missing from the squad .The absence of these key players can impact the overall performance of the team. 

Nepal 17th in world rankings in T20I is the highest ranked side in the tournament ,followed by Hong Kong, Kuwait and Qatar ranked 23rd,24th and 28th respectively. 

Analyzing and evaluating the four teams’ strengths,weaknesses,recent performances and win percentage,Nepal enjoys a clear edge over the other teams and are heavy favorites to win the championship. 

Having said that,for sure it will not be a cakewalk.They cannot afford to underestimate their opponents and have to be at their very best,perform consistently and work cohesively as a unit. 

It is very important that they maintain a positive mindset and the right focus from start to finish. 

The success heavily hinges on batting,which has been their Achilles’ heel.The batting has to come up big throughout.

The team faces high expectations from fans.They must rise to the occasion and translate their experiences and potential into success. 

Should their efforts to win the championship fall short,it will be a huge disappointment and setback.They should remember that there is absolutely no excuse for mediocrity . 

Furthermore,this is a big opportunity for Team Nepal to get the year off to a winning start.They have to create the much needed momentum for the CWC League 2 taking place in Scotland from June 2nd. 

The team will head to the United Kingdom from Hong Kong to prepare for the CWC League 2. When all is said and done,the onus is on the team to deliver the desired outcome. 

Nepal has a new head coach in highly experienced fifty- six years old Australian Stuart Law who replaced Indian Monty Desai recently. 

As a player Stuart represented Australia in one Test match and 54 One Day International matches. 

His international coaching career took off in 2009 after he was appointed assistant coach of Bangladesh.Later he went on to become head coach of Bangladesh,West Indies,Afghanistan and United States. 

As head coach of Team Nepal, Stuart’s first assignment starts with the CWC League 2. For the Hong Kong series former captain Gyanendra Malla is the team’s head coach.

By Sushil Thapa,Fairfax, VA