BCCI likely to help Nepal teams get game exposure and training in India

NEW DELHI: Having been a pillar of support for Afghanistan cricket for close to a decade now, the BCCI is set to extend infrastructure and exposure-related assistance to Nepal's talented players with the aim to maintain a robust cricketing eco-system in the South Asian region.

If all goes well, there is a strong possibility that the senior national team of Nepal could train in Delhi and play some warm-up games before leaving for the United States to play the T20 World Cup in June.

Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) president Chatur Bahadur met BCCI secretary Jay Shah in the national capital on Friday on the sidelines of a WPL meeting, with a request of helping the budding cricketers of his country get quality game time and access to infrastructure, which is not always readily available in the Himalayan nation.

''CAN president Chatur Bahadur had met BCCI secretary Jay Shah during an ACC (Asian Cricket Council) meeting recently and invited him to come to New Delhi for a discussion. Accordingly, Mr Bahadur and Mr Shah met and BCCI secretary has asked him to draft a formal proposal as to what kind of help they expect from BCCI. Mr Shah has been very supportive of promotion of cricket in Nepal,'' a CAN source told PTI on the condition of anonymity.

The passion for cricket in Nepal is unbelievable and whenever the national team plays a match, the stadiums are packed to capacity.

The war-ravaged Afghanistan national and U-19 teams have trained in Greater Noida in the National Capital Region (NCR) for a number of years and BCCI is all set to help in the growth of Nepal cricket in coming years, which will also foster bonhomie between the neighbours.

It is understood that Nepal cricket currently needs help in three areas.

The senior national team needs an uninterrupted training camp before the T20 World Cup, which might not be possible in Kathmandu, with the weather being a key impediment.

The CAN officials feel that, logistically, Delhi-NCR during the early summer months of April and May will be the best training base.

''We have Kathmandu-Delhi direct flight which makes it cost effective. We know the IPL will be on and we might not have access to the Ferozeshah Kotla but there are so many good grounds in and around Delhi where the team can train,'' the CAN source said.

The second request is access to the upgraded National Cricket Academy facilities in Bengaluru where the upcoming Nepal cricketers can go for injury management and rehabilitation if the need arises.

Lastly, CAN wants match exposure for the U-19 and Nepal A team cricketers.

''The chance of getting quality game time in Nepal isn't great and CAN will put in a request that our U-19 and A teams can periodically get a chance to play practice games against U-19 and senior state teams, which will help them immensely in their growth as players. ''It is still at a nascent stage but Mr Bahadur has got very positive feelers from Mr Shah, who also helped us organise the ACC Men's Premier Cup in Kathmandu in April-May 2023,'' the source said.