Despite its poor infrastructure, Sudurpaschim is a province that has made waves in cricket, with four players, Dipendra Singh Airi, Sher Malla, Lokesh Bam and Sandeep Jora, playing in the Twenty20 World Cup. Currently, Prem Chaudhary, Dhirendra Chand, Binod Bhandari, Naresh Budhaair, Pradeep Airi, Lalit Singh Bhandari, Kamal Giri, Bhim Sarki, Akash Chand, Hemant Dhami, Chandra Saud and Bikram Sob, who are making waves in the Nepali cricket world, are also cricketers who grew up in the soil of Sudurpaschim.

But it has not been long since the wave of cricket has come to the Far West. About a decade ago, Dhangadhi became the city that hosted Nepal's first franchise cricket league. Since then, Dhangadhi has been nicknamed the city of cricket. On the basis of that, the dream of 'Dream Fapla' is waiting to be fulfilled. The Far West is currently in a rush to realize that international dream of cricket in Fapla. 'Dream Fapla' is a grand world-class cricket stadium with a capacity of 50,000 spectators, attractive parapets, a football field, a gymkhana, a swimming pool, an indoor hall, a hotel and other international-level physical infrastructure, parking, a training building, a state-of-the-art media center, etc. To fulfill that 'dream', the Fapla International Cricket Ground and Sports Village Development Committee formed by the government has prepared the Detailed Project Report (DPR) in 2081 Asoj and the Environmental Study Report in 2082 Asar and has been approved by the concerned ministry. According to the DPR, not only a cricket stadium but also a multi-purpose sports village will be built in Fapla. According to the chairman of the development committee, Subash Shahi, the project, which will cost around Rs 26 billion, has been prepared. “The government is now waiting for the budget allocation and the contract process to be taken forward,” Shahi said. “FAPLA is a game-changer project that will take the poverty-stricken Far West on the path of economic prosperity.”

The government had decided to build an international cricket ground and sports village in FAPLA in 2078 Magh and provided 260,919 square meters of land. The government had also decided to form a FAPLA International Cricket Ground and Sports Village Development Committee under the chairmanship of Dhangadhi cricket engineer Subash Shahi to take forward infrastructure development and other works. The committee had prepared a pre-feasibility study report in 2079 Ashar. 

FAPLA is a priority project of the government. The government has been including this project in its policies and programs for the past two years. In the seventh meeting of the Nepal-India Joint Commission in 2079, the Nepali side had requested the Indian government for grant assistance for the construction of an international cricket stadium and sports village in FAPLA, recognizing sports as an important area of ​​cooperation between the two countries and stating that it has immense potential to expand people-to-people relations. In that process, the Indian side had asked for a suitable proposal. Later, in 2080, during the visit of the then Prime Minister of Nepal to India, the Nepali side had proposed cooperation to the Indian side, and India had also expressed its commitment, says Chairman Shahi.

Although the construction of the sports village will cost 26 billion and take 5 years, preparations are being made to work in two phases. The development committee has stated that international cricket competitions can be held by constructing structures at a cost of 11 billion in the first phase. Of this, a blueprint has been prepared for a stadium with a capacity of 25,000 spectators in the first phase, said Chairman Shahi. “We will also build a cricket stadium in two phases,” he said. “A stadium with a capacity of 25,000 spectators will be built in the first phase. The cost is estimated to be 6 billion.” 

He said that the technical design of the infrastructure has been designed to enable world-class cricket competitions to be held at FAPLA. Dhangadhi Sub-metropolitan Mayor Gopal Hamal, who is a member of the development committee, says that since the DPR has been approved, he recently went to Kathmandu and requested the ministers of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Sports and other officials to allocate budget for the construction of FAPLA in the next year's budget. 'We have made many requests to the relevant bodies,' said Mayor Hamal. 'It is hoped that the budget for FAPLA will be allocated from next year and the construction work will begin. If FAPLA is built, the door to economic development in the Far West will open.'

Chairman Shahi said that under the FAPLA International Cricket Ground and Sports Village Project, it has been envisaged to develop the Mohana River as a tourism area, a business center around the ground, a hospitality and culinary area. 

The NPL held at the FAPLA Cricket Ground in Dhangadhi in Chaitra and Baisakh 2070 further strengthened Dhangadhi's reputation as a city of cricket. FAPLA was also given nationwide recognition. The cricketing excitement in Dhangadhi started in 2066. The SPA Inter-College National Competition was started under the leadership of local Subash Shahi. After that, efforts were made to run the DCL (Dhangadi Cricket League) and the Dhangadhi Premier League (DPL) professionally in Dhangadhi. 

In the same vein, the first edition of the Dhangadhi Cricket League (DCL) in 2070 was organized at the Fapla ground. It was operated with the aim of giving maximum exposure to the players, and at that time, that playground was named the 'Fapla' cricket ground. Then the 'Dream Fapla' campaign was launched. 

It has taken the leaders of Dhangadhi a decade and a half of hard work to make Dhangadhi the city of cricket and run Dream Fapla as a campaign. With the aim of introducing Dhangadhi as a city of cricket, Subash Shahi, a local of Dhangadhi, also established the Dhangadhi Cricket Academy. Shahi's aim was to spread the message that Dhangadhi is capable of conducting international competitions by conducting various competitions. 

‘If FAPLA is built, it will not be limited to just a cricket ground. It will add to the economic aspect of the Far West,’ says tourism entrepreneur Padam Bikram Singh. ‘With the construction of an international-level sports village here, not only Dhangadhi, but also the trade and tourism business of the Far West will flourish.’

The construction of an international cricket stadium at FAPLA was envisioned by the Far West Provincial Government. The Far West Provincial Government had announced that it would take forward the project as a provincial pride project and allocated Rs 500 million in the 2076/77 budget. However, the work could not proceed due to lack of land at that time. ‘The Provincial Sports Council had also prepared a DPR in 2079. But work could not be done due to lack of land,’ says Deepak Singh, the then member-secretary of the Provincial Sports Council. ‘At that time, the association took over the project from the province.’

While there is talk of an international cricket ground at FAPLA, cricket activities in the Far West have started to decline in recent years. Some argue that the decline in cricket activities in the Far West will have an impact on the construction of FAPLA. Baburaja Shrestha, a provincial member of the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), says that the private sector has withdrawn its hand in Dhangadhi in recent years. “After the formation of the development committee, the private sector has withdrawn its hand in organizing competitions in Dhangadhi, and there is no sports ground,” he said. “It was seen that the government will do it.”