Could Nepal outshine ODI rivals in crucial T20I tri-series?

Kathmandu, Jan. 27: President and Vice-President of the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), during the award ceremony after the final of the 10th PM Women’s Cup in Dhangadhi on January 25, shared optimism regarding the national team upsetting the two ODI-status teams in a friendly tri-series starting on January 30.

Nepal is hosting the Netherlands and Thailand where the three teams will play each other three times in a league format; the top two teams on a point basis will play for the trophy in the final slated for February 8.

The Netherlands and Nepal will open the tri-series on January 30 and the two visiting sides will face each other on January 31. Nepal will then return to action against Thailand on February 1. Nepal’s second and third fixtures against the Netherlands and Thailand are on February 2 and 5 and on February 4 and 7 respectively. 

Thailand will be playing the Dutch side for the second and third time on February 3 and 6 respectively. All the games will be played at the Kirtipur-based TU International Cricket Ground.

However, despite being the host, Nepal will be the least prepared team for the tournament against the two higher-ranking teams. Thailand and the Netherlands are ranked 13th and 16th in T2oIs while 9th and 13th in ODIs respectively. Nepal is currently ranked 20th in T20Is and the women’s cricket is not yet ODI-recognised.

Teams’ preparation

The CAN had announced the tri-series on January 11, three days before the PM Women’s Cup kicked off in Dhangadhi. An hour later, the Koninklijke Nederlandse Cricket Bond (KNCB), the cricket board of the Netherlands, announced its squad to visit Nepal.

The 14-member Dutch squad is being led by Babette de Leede with Neil Macrae as the head coach. Scotsman Neil MacRae was appointed the national coach of the Dutch women's cricket team on April 1, 2024. 

“Six T20I matches in Nepal will be an important series as the squad builds towards qualification for the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup,” the KNCB quoted coach Neil on the squad announcement post.

The Netherlands is hosting Ireland and two top teams from Europe’s Division 2 in the European Qualifier in August this year for the 2026 T20 WC. 

Furthermore, the Dutch side has also been active for the past few months. They played against England, Scotland, Ireland and Italy in the European Cricket Championship Women's (ECC-W) Premier, a tournament played across a 10-over format, in December 2024. They had reached the final but lost to England by eight wickets. 

The 10-over game is expected to have improved the hard-hitting of the Lioness, the nickname of the Dutch women’s cricket team.

Similarly, the Cricket Association of Thailand (CAT) organised the CAT Women’s T20 Super League 2024 in December end and included the best players of the League in the squad visiting Nepal. The CAT revealed its 14-member squad for the tri-series in Nepal on Sunday afternoon.  

On the other hand, the CAN, the host, was the last to reveal the squad. The 15-member squad was revealed by the CAN on Sunday evening.  

Nepal’s squad 

Indu Barma will be leading Nepal’s squad as usual. The squad has been balanced with experienced and fresh faces as well.

Experienced Rubina Chhetry and Sita Rana Magar alongside Bindu Rawal, Samjhana Kumari Khadka, Kabita Kunwar, Kabita Joshi and Roma Thapa will be the old faces led by Barma. 

Similarly, Puja Mahato, Nepal’s U19 skipper, is back in the senior team for the tri-series and is bringing her U19 teammate and wicketkeeper Alisha Kumari Yadav to the senior side. 

Mamta Kumari Chaudhary, whose last national team game came in 2022 against the UAE, will also be back in action. Mamta was the leading scorer in the PM Women’s Cup and the only batter to cross the 200-run mark. She had 209 runs in 6 matches. 

Likewise, Manisha Upadhyaya has also been called for the senior side. She was the leading wicket-taker in the PM Cup with 10 wickets in five games. All-rounder Rajmati Airee has also been called to the squad alongside Rewati Dhami and Ishwori Bist.

Once in the Playing XI, it will be the debut for players including Alisha, Manisha, Rajmati, Rewati and Ishwori.  

Opponents to watch

Nepali women’s cricket has not faced the Netherlands yet but has a bad streak against Thailand. Nepal has lost the last three T2oI encounters against Thailand. 

With the two better teams visiting soon, Nepal’s squad will have many players to best to win the series. For instance, for the Lioness, Phebe Molkenboer will be a major asset in the batting.

Phebe was the only Dutch batter in the Top 5 players with the most runs in the ECC-W. She was third with 209 runs from nine innings in 10 games with a high score of 64* in the 10-over game.

Phebe will also be one of the youngest players in the series against Nepal and Thailand. The right-hand batter, Phebe also bowls off-break well. She has already played across 22 T20Is and has 168 runs in 18 innings and 12 wickets in 14 innings. She also has an experience of playing in 6 ODIs for the team.

Regarding the Thailand squad, Nepali players will have many old friends to meet; and they are still in good form. 

Thailand’s Suleeporn Laomi, Nannapat Khoncharoenkai and Aphisara Suwanchonrathi will be the players to watch. The trio was adjudged the best bowler, batter and player of the tournament in the CAT Super League.