'Nepal Ready to Walk into Unknown': Coach Monty Desai's Team 'Looks to Turn Adult After' Facing India, Pakistan

While the ICC is striving to make cricket a global sport, another team in the Asian sub-continent—Nepal—has taken birth and is now entering the age of adolescence with their Asia Cup debut in the 50-over variant of the tournament.

The Nepal cricket team is set to face Pakistan, and then India in the coming week, which will be their first-ever meeting with the two cricketing giants. That shall be something to celebrate for the players as well as for the cricket-crazy fans that we have already witnessed in recent times.

Nepal won the 10-team ACC Men’s Premier Cup, defeating the likes of Hong Kong and UAE – the latter in the final which saw unprecedented celebrations on a cricket field. And that is how they qualified for the 2023 Asia Cup.

Nepal’s Indian-origin Head Coach Monty Desai says that they are ready to “walk into the unknown with excitement." Desai feels that playing against the likes of India and Pakistan has made the Nepal team a part of the rich cricketing history of these two teams.

“This is a great platform to play against two well-established cricketing nations with tremendous history. And now we are also connected to the history," Desai said in a conversation with News 18 CricketNext.

Probably, there wouldn’t be a better opportunity for the players to prove that they are adults now. Desai also marked that this is a rare opportunity for his young side to showcase their skills.

“Super excited (to face India and Pakistan). I think, the likes of Test nations, we have already experienced it in World Cup qualifiers. We played against the West Indies, Zimbabwe, and Ireland. So now playing against Pakistan and India is another opportunity to show their abilities and leave a strong statement that they belong here. I think that is the excitement around in our happy dressing room."

While India and Pakistan have a rich history, the Nepalese players will have to face the likes of Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, Rohit Sharma, and Shaheen Afridi. While it might be nightmare-like for most of the opposition, the Nepal team would feel that they are living their dream.

The Head Coach believes that his team is skilled enough to face these players.

“The atmosphere in the dressing room is very competitive. They are very skilful players… When it comes to facing these players, it’s all about that one-ball mentality. It doesn’t matter who is batting or who is bowling. It will come down to how well we are able to present our strengths in those skill executions. Skill vs skill challenge.

“I don’t think I need to motivate them. I just need to remind them that great cricketers repeat whatever they have done… If they can just be themselves out there against these teams, that will be good enough to challenge the opponents."

Nepal won 11 of their 12 ODIs in the ODI World Cup League and sealed a spot in the World Cup qualifiers. While they missed out on the World Cup qualification with just two spots available, they will look to make the Asia Cup count.

“These youngsters are hungry. They want to be seen. They want to learn a lot more. They want to take these opportunities of being on these platforms a lot more regularly. So very different. I think what I have enjoyed is coaching these Nepalese boys," Desai added.

Desai has been around IPL franchises for several years—seven years with Rajasthan Royals and two years with Gujarat Lions—before moving to the West Indies as a batting coach and then with the Nepal team as a head coach.

The coach says that coaching the Nepal team has been very satisfying for him.

“Coaching Nepal team, yes, very satisfying. My coaching philosophy is around people’s places, passion with purpose. It’s no different here. New culture that I walked into in Nepal, obviously, I have enjoyed every bit of it so far in the last six months. I pretty much count every single day, the kind of experience which I enjoy with them."

Desai also shares that there is immense trust amongst the team and that also allows him to be a strict teacher at times. The fact that the team is yet to turn into a fully grown adult also allows Desai to act like a parent.

“Most of these youngsters, their age are very close to my eldest daughter. So they are of that age group where I can probably laugh around, sometimes I can act like a strict teacher. Everything can be done and they respond very well. We are bonded well and there is a good amount of trust between us. So I am enjoying this journey along with all these qualities."

Nepal is a group of very young players, as only one of their players is above the age of 30, and a majority lingers on the lower side of 25.

Unwavering fan support

While the players are dynamic, the fans too have shown their crazy side on multiple occasions. The fans have stayed put for hours under umbrellas in the rain during the Men’s Premier Cup Final showing their unwavering support.

“The emotions were high at that time and hence we could not describe it. But now we are settled and we are looking for opportunity," Desai recalls the final against UAE.

These same fans had earlier shown their support by climbing on trees to watch their team play.

“It’s not pressurising, it’s an encouragement, because you can see that the fans are crossing the limits, pushing their own limits. It probably pushes the players to push their own limits," Desai adds.

Captain Rohit Paudel

Nepal had a new captain in all-rounder Rohit Paudel in November 2022 after Sandeep Lamichhane was suspended owing to controversies revolving around him. Coach Desai says that he is a level-headed captain and well-respected within the squad.

Paudel is currently also the highest scorer for Nepal in ODI Cricket.

“He is a very level-headed human being. He is a leader who is constantly learning. He is not perfect and he understands that, but he is obviously thriving to get better and better. He wants to improve in all departments.

“Most of the players respect him for the kind of balanced attitude he has got with all the cricketers in the team. He is willing to have conversations with everyone and have a laugh. He doesn’t just act as a captain off the field, he acts as a good human being. He also has a huge ambition to leave a mark for Nepal cricket."

It might take a while before cricket grows in different parts of the world, but the Asian sub-continent is witnessing one more team grow out of childhood. The world has already seen the rise of Afghanistan Cricket in such a short time span.

Desai says that the World Cricket needs to see a lot more competitive teams. It will be worthwhile to see if Nepal will be able to follow those footprints.