National 9 (Spotlight Weekly)

“Our Players Are Improving Their Performance And Standard”

— Jai Kumar Nath Shaha

President of Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) JAI KUMAR NATH SHAHA has been dedicating most of his lifetime to promote the cricket in Nepal. He has been involved in this sector for the last five decades. Thanks to Shaha’s personal dedication, Nepalese cricket has seen tremendous achievement of late. Shaha also founded Jai Kumar Trophy Cricket Tournament. Shaha, who was recently awarded with the Global Lifetime Service Award by the International Cricket Council (ICC), spoke to SPOTLIGHT on various issues regarding his experiences in cricket development in Nepal. Excerpts:

How do you feel being honored with the Global Lifetime Service Award by the International Cricket Council?

Naturally, I am feeling very happy but at the same I have also realized that the responsibility has also increased ten folds on my shoulder. Now, Nepal has to do better than what we were doing in the past.

How many other South Asians have received the award before you?

This award was started last year and this is the first time. I am the first one to receive this award.

How do you become associated with cricket in Nepal?

Well, it is a long story. I saw cricket being played for the first time in Nepal in 1937 when I was a seven-year-old boy at general Madan Sumsher’s Shree Durbar Palace. Since he was my relative, I used to go to Shree Durbar every Saturday and there used to be friendly matches. My maternal uncle late Dhir Bikram Shaha taught me how to bowl and bat. My father also played cricket, he is still interested to see cricket at his 95 years of age. My father allowed me to watch and play cricket. I saw first quadrangle tournament in 1941 in Mumbai. That is how I got exposed to cricket.

How do you assess the caliber of Nepalese cricketers?

Nepalese players are improving their standard and performance. Everyday it is improving. In New Zealand, our under 19 team defeated Pakistan and Bangladesh. This time in Bangladesh our team defeated South Africa. Cricket is definitely on the move but we will have to perform very well. First of all, our team is going to UAE now to play three-day match and next month Malaysia is coming to Nepal to play three-day match. For the present generation of our players, this is the first three-day match they will be playing. In our early days along with Madhav Kumar Rimal, Dr. Trailokya Nath Upreti, late Dr. Kalyan Mani Dixit, we used to play three-day cricket. Our coach Roy Dias is training all the boys to gear themselves up for three-day match. Our main test is going to be in Kuala Lumpur in Asia Cup where we will have to come out either the winner or the first runner up to qualify to play next year in Ireland. If our team succeeds to secure the top three position there, our team will qualify for the one-day world cup (in 2007). This year, therefore, is very important and we all are doing our best to upgrade our standard.

In what manner is the government helping to promote cricket in Nepal?

First of all, we are under National Sports Council (NSC) and without its permission we cannot play. They are helping us for the establishment of Central Cricket Academy. We have already got letter from the council confirming that. The government is providing us nearly 200 ropanis of land in Mulpani. So that will be leased. Along with the land, we are also requesting the Council to provide us some money. With our aspiration, our demand has also grown. Earlier, we used to hold camps for a week but now we are holding the camps for two weeks and three weeks. Money is required to run the camp. We are also trying to raise the money ourselves.

What are the handicaps CAN is facing at the moment?

At this moment, the most glaring handicap is not having indoor playing facilities. For two months in July and August, we cannot play or practice cricket in Nepal due to monsoon. We are trying to build indoor net facilities and approaching for it. We have to play in mat wicket because of lack of natural pitch all over the country. In our days even test matches were played in mat wicket. We need to have natural wicket in all the grounds in Nepal. We are making efforts to build natural wicket in Biratnagar, Birgunj, Kalaiya and Bhairawa.

In what manner are you going to continue to serve cricket in Nepal?

I will serve the cricket in any manner. My interest of cricket is not to get any awards, name or fame. Some people like to do something. I always remember artist Franco who did not paint to get money even at the time when he had to starve. During the starvation, Franco thought, he could paint better. That was his love for painting which made him a great painter. It is for me to love cricket. As long as I am fit, I can serve the cricket in any capacity. I enjoy listening cricket, playing cricket and watching cricket. I enjoy even doing administrative works for cricket.

When do you think can Nepal become a test playing nation?

We hope that our team will qualify for 2007 one day international World Cup in West Indies. The president of International Cricket Council has publicly said in Dhaka that Nepal will qualify for ODI if Nepalese maintain their performance. We all, at CAN, want to improve our performance. We don’t want just to maintain it.