The men’s national cricket team of Nepal’s 2025 competitive season kicks off with the ICC
Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series in Scotland,starting June 2nd.

They are up against formidable Scotland and the Netherlands in the tri-series. They face hosts
Scotland in the opener on June 2nd.

After the conclusion of the league the three teams will compete in the T20 series in Scotland as
well.

Team Nepal is under the new head coach Australian Stuart Law who replaced Indian Monty
Desai.

As part of preparation for the upcoming Cricket World Cup League 2 series the team reached
the United Kingdom several weeks before the start of the series to play practice matches.

They played a mix of one day and T20 matches in England against Cardiff
University,Marylebone Cricket Club and two county sides Gloucestershire and Glamorgan.
They wound up the preparatory matches against Scotland A, playing two matches.

Overall,the team played fairly well and must carry the momentum forward to the Tri-series.
Finally Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) did the right thing by working out a relevant,timely
and appropriate preparation schedule for the team.

Furthermore,the cricket body appointed South African coach Nic Pothas as consultant coach
of the national team for the sole purpose of bolstering the performance.

Skipper and right-handed batter Rohit Paudel leads an experienced squad studded with
promising and seasoned players.

The majority of players have plenty of international experience, but they have failed to
showcase collective efforts to achieve success for the team lately.

The time has come for them to stand out and deliver the result to end the team’s slump and
turn things around in the ongoing league.

The players must have the focus,right mindset and demonstrate a high level of commitment to
overcome the odds stacked against them.

There is a need for them to learn from mistakes and make adjustments to their game
accordingly.

They have to be on top of their game. It is imperative that they contribute to their maximum
potential.

Given the team’s fragile batting over the years, it is their biggest weakness. Therefore,their
success largely hinges on batting.

The top-order batters have to put in a strong, disciplined and consistent batting. With the pitch
and breezy conditions favoring seam bowlers,batters face further challenges,no doubt.

In the table standings,the Netherlands and Scotland are second and fourth respectively .Only
six points separate the two sides.

In sharp contrast with six points Nepal is languishing at the bottom of the table, trailing the
Netherlands and Scotland by 20 and 14 points respectively.

The top four teams in the ongoing league competition advance to the World Cup Qualifiers.

While the four bottom finishers have to battle out with promoted teams for the One Day
International (ODI) status.

Having played fewer matches than the two opponents, Nepal can narrow the gap provided they
are able to win the majority of matches on hand.

If Nepal fails to make significant progress in the tri-series in Scotland,they will get closer to the
unthinkable scenario of having to compete to safeguard their One Day International (ODI)
status.

By Sushil Thapa, Fairfax,VA