Not long ago Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, two giants of International Cricket were an Associate Team just like Nepal. But when their team won the ICC Qualifiers(then known as ICC Trophy) everything changed for them and within years of the tournament glory both of the team even got a test status. Sri Lanka won the tournament in 1975 and were rewarded test status in 1981 and Bangladesh after winning the tournament in 1997 were a test playing team in 2000.
Could this tournament be the big break for Nepal?
This is the 10th edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier, which was known as the ICC Trophy until 2005. Previous winners of this tournament include
Sri Lanka (1975)
Zimbabwe (1982, 1986 and 1990),
the UAE (1994),
Bangladesh (1997)
Netherlands (2001)
Scotland (2005)
Ireland (2009)
Nepal played the 2001 ICC Trophy but failed to qualify for the 2005 tournament finishing 5th in the ACC Trophy 2004 and losing to Fiji in the semi’s of another qualification series. Nepal lost to Afghanistan once again in the semi-final of the 2008 WCL Division-5 and the journey was cut short.
It was just one tournament win that changed the face of the game in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. With comparable flare among the public for Cricket could this tournament be the big break for Nepali Cricket? Only time will tell!
