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Kathmandu Sunday June 24, 2001 Ashadh 10, 2058.
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Nepali cricketers may finally fly to Canada
By Somesh Verma
KATHMANDU, June 23 – Delayed it may be, but
Nepal’s first participation in the International Cricket Council (ICC) trophy slated
to begin from June 28 is now raising hopes that the Nepali team may still face the
Canadian crease, as it is likely to fly this Tuesday.
The 17-member team was scheduled to fly today, altered
their plans after four of their teammates, including the captain, were refused visa by the
Canadian Embassy in New Delhi, India.
"We have selected four substitute players for the
quartet who were denied visa to travel to Canada," Pramod Kumar Upadhyay,
Vice-President of Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) told The Kathmandu Post this evening.
"The new players will fly to New Delhi to apply for their visas to the Canadian
Embassy tomorrow."
However, whether the Canadian Embassy will accept the visa
applications of the new set of players remains another question that is bugging even CAN.
"We are sending the players after getting the green
signal from London (where the ICC headquarters is located). All we can do right now is be
positive," he said.
CAN officials, including President Jay Kumar Nath Shah,
another Vice-President Shree Harsha Koirala and General Secretary Binay Raj Pandey, who
are presently in London for the general assembly of ICC, had raised the issue there, said
Upadhyay.
He also added that he had already lost hope of Nepali
participation in the ICC trophy. "We were thinking that the tour is off. But I am
hopeful now," he said.
Another CAN official, Shashi Dutt Pandey, who is also a
member of the squad to Canada, said that Nepal’s participation is now again almost
sure. "The new replacement players were re-chosen from a group of 25 probable
selected for the closed camp," he said.
The new set of players who are flying to New Delhi tomorrow
are Deepak Ghimire (batsman), Durga Sen (all-rounder), Pawan Aggrawal (batsman) and
Sandeep Shrestha (batsman). Aamir Akhtar and Manoj Katwal, who were initially selected as
the stand-by players in the closed camp, have failed to make it to the squad again.
On the other hand, many say that the Canadian decision is
likely to affect Nepal’s participation in the tournament now. "Among the four
members rejected earlier included key stars of the team…Plus, the change in schedule
and uncertainty over Nepal’s participation has put the team morally down," said
Durga Nath Subedi, a keen Nepali cricket follower who has even played the Jay Trophy,
Nepal’s only national tournament.
Among the ones that were rejected visa include the
team’s skipper and all-rounder Raju Khadka, along with the batsmen duo Khush Gurung
and Birendra Shah and leg-spinner Raj Kumar Pradhan.
Now, the team to Canada will likely be headed by Ganesh
Shahi, wicket-keeper and vice-captain of the team.
Meanwhile, an online cricket magazine says that Italy
– which is in the same pool as Nepal (Group A of Division 2) — has withdrawn
from the tournament today following the ICC decision to rule four players of the players
of the Italian squad ineligible.
According to www.cricinfo.com, USA squad also yet to be
accepted by the ICC. However, it is not clear whether the draw will be rescheduled now or
not.
This is the first time that Nepal is scheduled to
participate in the ICC trophy - a ticket for the non-Test playing cricketing nations to
play in the World Cup Cricket. The teams finishing in the top three positions in the
championship will be allowed to play in the World Cup to be played in South Africa in
2003. |
