Mumbai, February 10 Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) secretary Paras Khadka said the spirited performance against England in a T20 World Cup match was a symbol of the "resilience and determination" of a young cricketing nation.
Nepal fought bravely until the end, but lost by just four runs to the two-time champions, giving a good account of themselves in their opening match of the ICC tournament, here on Sunday at the Wankhede Stadium.
Making their third appearance in the T20 World Cup, Nepal will now face debutants Italy in a Group C match here.
"For us to play the kind of cricket that we did, I'm very proud of the effort, and we believe in our team. Our boys have the resilience and determination; we are a young cricket nation, and that's part of it," Khadka said at a CAN event.
Khadka noted that despite it being the time of general elections in Nepal, discussions about a cricket match dominated the Himalayan nation's news.
"Nepal cricket has been blessed with great coaches, and now playing at the Wankhede, it felt like home. We had around 17,000 supporters, almost everyone looked like a Nepali supporter, when we opened up social media during the game and after it, we are on the brink of elections back home," he said on Monday.
"…for the last 24 hours, it's only been cricket news of what could have been or what could have happened. But for us, the most important thing is that we are here, we're playing in Wankhede, we're playing in Mumbai, and as we all know, it's probably a center stage for where Indian cricket is," Khadka added.
The 38-year-old said Nepal is beginning to make its mark in Asia after watching other giants in the subcontinent.
"I would say the game has now grown to a level where we are in the subcontinent, but Nepal, as a young cricket nation, has grown by watching all the big cricketing giants around us," he said.
"But we are slowly making our mark towards where we want to go, the future is bright, there are a lot of prospects, a lot of support from the government, non-government, and the corporate sector back home, and with the kind of performances (on Sunday) and with the three matches remaining, we believe that we can make it to the second round," Khadka added.
Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar, who was among the panelists, said Nepal has an inherent fighting spirit.
"There is an inherent fighting spirit, which Afghanistan also has. Afghanistan never goes on the field as an emerging team or a weaker team, and they don't feel anxious on the field," he said.
"It's inherent, something that is God-given. I dare say, India used to be nervous for a number of years. I was part of a team in the 90s that was anxious when it went abroad."
"I don't see that anxiety in Afghanistan, and I don't see that in Nepal, so that's a great start," Manjrekar added.
