Arya News - Despite putting up promising performances over the years, Nepal’s women’s cricket hit a period of stagnation. They are now trying to return to their old form. But still, the road ahead is anything but rosy.
KATHMANDU – Nepal’s women’s cricket team made its international debut in 2007 without full-time cricketers. The team was made up of top athletes from other sports to participate in the inaugural ACC Women’s T20 Championship.
The tournament featured eight teams divided into two groups, with the top team from each group progressing to the final for the title. Nepal were pitted in Group A with the host Malaysia, Hong Kong and Thailand. Group B comprised Bangladesh, China, Singapore and the UAE.
In what was a remarkable achievement for a makeshift squad of sporting all-rounders, the Nepali team topped the group and advanced to the final. They defeated Thailand by 55 runs and Hong Kong by seven wickets in the group round, while drawing the one with Malaysia.
While Nepal were comprehensively beaten in the title clash against Bangladesh, their runner-up finish set the stage for the rise of women’s cricket in the country. “Nepal showed they could play shots,” the espncricinfo reported at the time.
That early promise was further validated when Nepal’s U-19 women’s team lifted the ACC Under-19 Women’s Championship in 2008 and successfully defended the title in 2010.
But that momentum was short-lived. The country that once led the regional development of women’s cricket gradually lost ground. Teams Nepal had once dominated began to surpass them. No story illustrates that shift better than the rise of Thailand.
Thailand leave Nepal behind
Nepal defeated Thailand when they met for the first time in international cricket in 2007. But in the second edition of the ACC Women’s Championship in 2009, Thailand returned the favour, winning by 23 runs.
In the third edition of the tournament in 2013—played in a 25-over format—Thailand defeated Nepal by seven wickets in the semi-final and went on to claim the title by beating China.
Despite putting up promising performances over the years, Nepal’s women’s cricket hit a period of stagnation, plagued by irregularities and the suspension of the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN). In contrast, Thailand continued to make steady progress. By the time the two sides met again in 2019, for the inaugural ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier, it was clear that Thailand had pulled ahead.
Nepal and Thailand entered the 2019 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier as joint favourites among the seven participating teams. But with only one coveted spot available for the Global Qualifier, it was Thailand who seized the moment, crushing Nepal by 57 runs on February 21. That defeat, Nepal’s only loss of the tournament, proved decisive as Thailand went on to win all their matches and advance.
Thailand then went on to play in the 2020 T20 World Cup, their first, alongside Bangladesh from the then Global Qualifier. They then entered the Global Qualifier for the 2022 World Cup directly, but were back in the regional qualifier in 2023.
And again, Thailand thrashed Nepal to reach the Global Qualifier as they defeated the Rhinos in the semi-final by 46 runs to book a place in the final and become one of the top two teams to progress to the next stage.
Thailand’s dominance over Nepal continued in 2025 as they defeated Nepal in all three games of the tri-series comprising the Netherlands, and played in a triple round-robin format. Thus, there was little surprise when Nepal lost to host Thailand by 78 runs in the final game of the Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier at the Bangkok-based Terdthai Cricket Ground on Tuesday. It was Nepal’s fourth consecutive loss to the same opponent in a year. Further, it was their seventh consecutive loss against Thailand since 2019.
An individual 50 by Nattaya Boochatham and Nannapat Koncharoenkai took Thailand to 158/2 in the first inning of the Super Three encounter on Tuesday. In turn, Nepal could only make 80/9 in 20 overs. Boochatham was in-at-four against Nepal when the two teams met back in the ACC tournament in 2007.
Nevertheless, Tuesday’s loss did not hamper Nepal’s progress to the Global Qualifier, which they ensured with a five-run win over the UAE on Monday, but it highlighted Nepal’s performance gap with the teams that will be waiting for them in the Global Qualifier.
Nepal’s opponents in Global Qualifier
The Global Qualifier will feature 10 teams vying for the four spot to the 2026 World Cup in England and Wales; half of the participants have been finalised after Nepal and Thailand’s entry was confirmed.
Scotland and Bangladesh directly qualified for the Global Qualifier based on their performance in the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup, while the USA qualified, which was their fourth in a row, through the Americas Qualifier in Argentina in March.
Now, the ICC will conduct the qualifiers in Europe, Africa and East-Asia-Pacific (EAP) regions for the remaining five spots in the Global Qualifier. The European qualifiers begin on May 25, while those in Africa and EAP have been slated for July and September, respectively. Meanwhile, two teams each will progress to the Global Qualifier from Europe and Africa, but only one from EAP.
The favourites to qualify from Europe include the likes of the Netherlands and Ireland, while those from Africa are Zimbabwe, Namibia, Uganda and Kenya. Meanwhile, there are eight teams competing for a single seat in the EAP.
Since being granted the WT20I status in July 2018, Nepal have not yet defeated the likes of the Netherlands, Namibia and Bangladesh in the short format as well.
Nepal’s upcoming preparation
There was no shortage of celebration on Monday as Nepal’s senior women’s cricket team’s advance to the Global Qualifier marked a historic high in their journey. For the first time ever, Nepal’s senior women’s side stands just one step away from a maiden appearance at a global ICC event.
But it will not be easy to grab the four spots among the 10 best teams in the Global Qualifier, which will not begin unless the EAP Qualifier concludes in September.
“It (the win) has shown that women’s cricket in Nepal deserves more investment and support from the agencies concerned,” Nepal’s skipper Indu Barma said in a video after defeating the UAE on Monday.
While CAN officials have not yet proposed extra plans for the women’s team’s preparation for the bigger challenge, CAN’s calendar for 2025 shows that the team will have good preparations ahead.
As per the calendar, the women’s team will now shift their focus to the ACC Women’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Sri Lanka next month. After a two-month break, the team will head to Malaysia in September for a T20I tri-series comprising the UAE.
If everything goes as per plan, CAN has also proposed a tour of the women’s team to Sri Lanka in October. Nepal will also host a pentangular series, inviting Uganda, Namibia, the UAE and the Netherlands in December.
CAN has also expected the inclusion of Monika, a fitness trainer, and Manish Jha, a consultant coach, both from India, to improve the women’s team’s performance. Similarly, as an increasing number of young and emerging players are stepping into the cricketing scene, the governing body of Nepali cricket now has a broader and more competitive pool to select the best players.