If we look at the batting performance of Nepal’s men’s cricket team, which traveled to the Netherlands to play in the Cricket World Cup League 2, a clear pattern can be seen. But Nepal’s consistency lies in weak batting performances and low scores. This is a continuation of Nepal’s poor batting in one-day cricket as well. 

After losing the first two matches to Namibia and the Netherlands by 8 wickets and 6 wickets respectively, Nepal’s chances of qualifying directly for the World Cup Qualifier under the provision that the top four teams in League 2 qualify directly are not just slim, but have reached an almost impossible state. 

In this situation, Nepal’s one-day journey is becoming even more difficult. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has not yet clarified what structure will be adopted after this League 2 cycle, but Nepal will have to go to Namibia, which is considered tough for batting, to play the World Cup Qualifier playoff. This will make Nepal’s already busy 2026 international calendar even more burdensome. 

Counting the two defeats suffered in the Netherlands, Nepal has now faced 12 losses in 18 League 2 matches played on foreign soil. In matches where Nepal batted first, the team has been restricted to under 200 runs on five occasions. In both opening matches against Namibia and the Netherlands, Nepal was all out for the same score of 157 runs. In 12 League 2 matches played at home, Nepal has been all out for under 200 runs three times. 

Whenever one of the openers, Aasif Sheikh or Kushal Bhurtel, gets out, either the whole team plays a subdued innings or the other batters get out one after another, resulting in a low total—this has become a tradition for Nepal. In February, Nepal had come for the UAE and Oman League. After suffering a 102-run defeat in the third match of the series against Oman, coach Stewart Law made Binod Bhandari and Arjun Kumal the opening pair in place of Aasif and Kushal. Although both are still in the squad, Law could not show much faith in Binod and Arjun for long. Aasif and Kushal soon returned as the opening pair.

Two months ago, Ishan Pandey not only scored well in the series against the USA and Scotland, but also ended a long drought of left-handed batting. On the Netherlands tour, like Nepal, he too is struggling to score runs. In the home League 2 series against UAE and Oman, and against USA and Scotland, vice-captain Dipendra Singh Airee’s batting played a major role in helping Nepal win 6 out of 8 matches. But neither he, captain Rohit Paudel, nor Arif Sheikh have been able to show consistent batting performances in the middle order. Gulshan Jha, who tends to focus on big shots, continues to lose his wicket just as he is settling in, causing Nepal to falter in the final powerplay. He seems to have forgotten the importance of left-handed batting. 

Even though Gulshan, Sompal Kami, and Karan KC are listed as all-rounders, they have not been able to rescue Nepal’s batting. Sompal and Karan have occasionally played necessary innings, but when Nepal needs them most, their batting is weighed down by the poor performances of the top order. 

In 2023, Nepal showed exceptional performance in 50-over cricket. In this period, Nepal won 11 out of 12 League 2 matches and qualified directly for the World Cup Qualifier. It was also the year Nepal qualified for the Asia Cup for the first time by advancing through the Asia Cup Qualifier at home. In the Asia Cup, Nepal bowled well against Pakistan in Multan at the start and scored 230 runs against India in Kandy, Sri Lanka. 

Before going to play in the Asia Cup, Nepal also showed good batting performance in the World Cup Qualifier held in Zimbabwe. In the first match against Zimbabwe, Nepal scored 290 runs for the loss of 8 wickets, and then chased down a target of 211 runs against the USA in just 43 overs. In the match against West Indies, which Nepal lost by 101 runs, the team scored 238 runs before being all out in the final over. 

Against the Netherlands, however, Nepal managed only 167 runs, but then chased down a target of 182 runs against UAE within 44 overs and scored 268 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in the final match against Ireland. 

Against this backdrop, Nepal began the 2024–26 League 2 cycle at home in Kathmandu in February 2024 against the Netherlands and Namibia. Moreover, Namibia’s captain Gerhard Erasmus had commented just before the series that Nepal was a powerful associate nation. Coincidentally, in the first match against Namibia, Nepal was all out for just 132 runs in Kirtipur, which is Nepal’s lowest score in this League 2 cycle. Since then, Nepal’s performance and standard in 50-over matches have hovered around this score. Nepal failed to cross 200 runs in all four matches against Namibia and the Netherlands, three of which were when batting first.

Eight of the players who played in the playing XI against Namibia two and a half years ago are still in the Nepal squad. Except for Anil Sah, Kushal Malla, and Pawan Sarraf, Nepal’s batting lineup remains the same. Ishan Pandey, Dipendra Singh Airee, and Arif Sheikh have come in their place, but they too have not been able to cover up Nepal’s weak batting in League 2. While League 2 was ongoing at home, the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) surprisingly granted Dipendra permission to play in the UAE’s ILT20 League, after which Nepal’s performance weakened. 

Looking at the first two matches in the Netherlands, it appears Nepal is struggling to understand the conditions and wickets there. By the 15th over, Nepal has already lost key top-order wickets. Lack of adequate preparation before going to play a major series may also have affected Nepal’s performance. 

After playing in the Asian Games Qualifier held in Singapore in June, the Nepal team directly traveled to Europe and played two 50-over matches against Jersey in the British Isles. Nepal won both matches easily. Jersey is a team ranked much lower than Nepal in the World Cricket League structure, and it appears they could not provide Nepal with enough competitive opportunities before going to the Netherlands. 

The practice matches played before the previous two European tours could have served as examples for the current Nepal team. In 2016, before going to the Netherlands to play in the World Cricket League Championship, Nepal played four practice matches in England, including against the Marylebone Cricket Club at Lord’s, and managed to win one of the two matches in the Netherlands. Last year, before reaching Glasgow, Scotland for League 2 at the same time, Nepal played various practice matches in England. 

As a result, Nepal won 3 out of 4 League 2 matches in Dundee, two against the Netherlands and one against Scotland. This is Nepal’s greatest success in League 2 on foreign soil, both in terms of performance and points. In the first match, Nepal chased Scotland’s target of 296 runs with one ball to spare. This was Nepal’s highest successful run chase. In the second match, Nepal chased the Netherlands’ 225 runs in 47.1 overs for the loss of 5 wickets. In the third match, Nepal scored 321 runs while chasing the target but lost by 2 runs. However, this remains Nepal’s highest score in one-day internationals. In the fourth match, Nepal scored 236 runs batting first and secured a 16-run win over the Netherlands. Fourteen months after the Scotland tour, the standard of Nepal’s batting has dropped as if falling from the sky to the ground.