Cricket Association of Nepal

Sport	Cricket
Jurisdiction	National
Abbreviation	CAN
Founded	1946; 78 years ago (1946) (2003 BS)
Affiliation	International Cricket Council
Affiliation date	1988 AD (2045 BS) Affiliate 1996 AD (2053 BS) Associate
Regional affiliation	Asian Cricket Council
Affiliation date	1990 AD (2047 BS)
Headquarters	Mulpani, Kathmandu
President	Chatur Bahadur Chand
Secretary	Paras Khadka
Men's coach	Monty Desai
Women's coach	Manoj Katwal
Sponsor	My Second Teacher (national teams), Kelme (Kit sponsor)
Official website
cricketnepal.org.np

Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) is the official governing body of cricket in Nepal.

The board was dissolved by the government of Nepal in November 2014 on the grounds of incompetence and a three-member ad hoc committee was established with a new president designated by the government itself.^[1]

In April 2016, CAN was suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC), on the grounds of government interference in its operations. However the suspension did not prevent Nepal's national teams from participating in ICC tournaments.^[2][3]

The ICC welcomed the elections of the board held in September 2019^[4] and formally reinstated the board on a conditional basis on 14 October.^[5] On 13 October 2019, the ICC lifted its suspension on the Cricket Association of Nepal.^[6]

The Association's headquarters are in Kathmandu, Nepal. It is Nepal's representative at the ICC and remains an associate member, having been a member since 1988 AD (2045 BS using the Nepali calendar era). It is also a member of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).

Domestic cricket

Domestic competitions

The CAN organizes the following domestic cricket competitions:

Men's

• Everest Premier League
• Nepal Premier League
• Men's Elite Trophy
• Manmohan Memorial National One-Day Cup
• Kathmandu Mayor's Cup
• Prime Minister Cup One-Day Cricket Tournament
• Asian Challenger Trophy

Women's

• Prime Minister Cup Women's National Tournament
• Lalitpur Mayor's Cup

National teams

^{[Out of date, needs updating]}

Nepal's position at the top of the ACC rankings rests on its consistent performance at all levels of competition. Wins in U-19 cricket World Cups against Pakistan, New Zealand, and South Africa have been based on disciplined, error-free cricket.

Sri Lanka's batsman Roy Dias, who took over as coach in 2001, was the architect of Nepal's triumphs and he molded a nation high on enthusiasm and short of experience into a competitive force. A good example of his ability to maximize the skills of his charges was seen in the performance of the U-15 team in the 2006 ACC Elite Cup.: only two of the Nepal squad had ever played any competitive cricket before reaching Malaysia to play the event, two weeks later they had won it.

A regime change at the Cricket Association of Nepal has led to the adoption of a more professional approach to development. Greater sponsorship and more focused domestic competitions have been the result. Work has already started on a national Academy, felt to be vital given the extremes of Nepal's weather for indoor practice, which will be partly funded by the ACC. Nepal plays most of its international matches at the Tribhuwan University International Cricket Ground in the outskirts of Kathmandu. Other grounds include Engineering College Ground in Pulchowk. A host of other grounds are used for domestic tournaments including Tudikhel, Army School Ground and Lab School Ground. Various cricket academies have surfaced since 2010, like Sangrila Cricket Academy, Dhangadi Cricket Academy, and Jhapa Cricket Academy. The National Cricket Academy started functioning in late 2011. CAN has partly funded two upcoming national cricket academies in Mulpani and Pokhara.

Former coach Pubudu Dassanayake added the batting strength which had long been the Achilles' heel for Nepalese cricket. Under Dassanayake, Nepal has won World Cricket League divisions 4 and 3 (twice). Nepal participated in the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh in March 2014, where they produced some good performances, narrowly missing out on the next round on net run rate. As a result, they were awarded T20 International status by the ICC along with the Netherlands.

Organization

Presidents

• Jay Kumar Nath Shah (1966 – September 2006 = 40 years)^[7] One of the longest serving cricket association president in the world. Association was almost non existent till the mid 1990s.
• Binay Raj Pandey (September 2006 – December 2011)^[8] A long serving cricket administrator with business background. His commitee was dissolved by the government for his failure to hold an election, a requirement of International Cricket Committee.
• Tanka Angbuhaang (December 2011 – June 2014)^[9][10] He was appointed by the government of Nepal after dissolution of Binaya Raj Pandey. During his tenure he appointed new coach, Pubudu Dasanayake, and also made bilateral ties with cricket teams in India. Although full of controversies, Nepal cricket team made into their first t20 worldcup during his tenure.
• TB Shah (Interim) (June 2014 – November 2014)^[9]
• Binay Raj Panday (Interim) (November 2014 - April 2016)^[11] He was appointed after the previous working committee formed under Tanka Angabuhang was dissolved by the Government. The repeated dissolutions failure to holding election caused CAN suspension by the ICC after his tenure.
• Chatur Bahadur Chand (September 2019 – present)^[12]

Between 2016 and 2019, Bhawana Ghimire was CEO of the Cricket Association of Nepal. CAN was suspended during this period for government interventions.^[13]

Affiliated domestic boards

There are currently 7 provincial cricket associations and 45 district cricket associations affiliated with Cricket Association of Nepal.^[14]

Controversies

Despite unprecedented success on the field, including victories over Hong Kong and Afghanistan at the 2014 ICC World Twenty20, Nepal went through some turmoil off the field in 2014 with a boycott of the national one-day tournament by the national players with the captain Paras Khadka slamming the Cricket Association of Nepal for their treatment of national players.^[15]

The board then came under an investigation by the Commission for Investigation into Abuse of Authority.^[16] Later, CIAA filed a case against 18 CAN members including the then President Tanka Aangabuhang, after finding them guilty of misusing around Rs. 14.31 million, which was to be used for developing the game in the country instead.^[17][18] This resulted in several CAN members stepping down from their posts on moral grounds.

In May, members of CAN filed a no-confidence motion against president Tanka Angbuhang, after the organization of the Nepal Premier League was outsourced to a private sports management firm.^[19]

In March, the CAN had said Nepal coach Pubudu Dassanayake would get a year's extension to his contract. However, he was only given a three-month extension, which ran out later June.^[20] The change in terms, CAN secretary Ashok Nath Pyakuryal said, was due to the board being under investigation. The coach left the country on 4 June due to unresolved contractual issues.^[21]

But the Government of Nepal intervened and handed Dassanayake a year's extension. Dassanayake returned to Nepal on 29 August after being invited by the government and was reappointed coach of Nepal's senior and Under-19 cricket teams.^[22]

After all these controversies in the year 2014, the Nepal Government dissolved the Angbuhang led CAN committee on 6 November and formed an ad hoc committee under former president Binaya Raj Pandey on an interim basis.^[11]

As a result of the governmental involvement in its running, the ICC suspended CAN in April 2016,^[23] though allowed the national teams to continue playing in international competitions.