Kathmandu, October 18

Women’s national cricket team skipper Rubina Chhetri said booking a place in the Asia Cup was similar to qualifying for the World Cup.

Nepal earned the berth in the Asia Cup by finishing second in the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier Asia Region in Hong Kong. Thailand finished first to win the World Cup global qualifiers place, while hosts Hong Kong and China were the other two teams who competed in the double-league competition.

“Qualifying for the Asia Cup is one of the biggest achievements for us and it is by no means less than earning a place in the World Cup,” said Chhetri upon the team’s arrival at the Tribhuvan International Airport where national team coach Jagat Tamatta welcomed the players. “We always dream of playing against India, Pakistan, England and Australia in the World Cup. And we have earned a place where we will get to face India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the Asia Cup,” the skipper added.

Nepal won three out of six matches in Hong Kong whereas Thailand won the title with five victories and qualified for the ICC Women’s World Cup Global Qualifiers. Chhetri said the tournament in Hong Kong was the best one for the women’s team which returned home with a trophy after nine years. “Batting let us down in the first two matches and that was the set back for the team. We could have done better had we scored 90 to 100 runs in those two matches,” added Chhetri.

Chhetri demanded the training camp within a week to prepare for the Asia Cup. “We got good results in the qualifiers as we had the best preparation in terms of facilities and equipment. And we need similar training and facilities for the Asia Cup as well. We need to start the close camp training after having a rest of five or six days,” she said.

Coach Raju Basnyat said the team was not mentally prepared for the tough fight in Hong Kong. “We were strong in tactical and physical aspects, but the players were inferior in terms of mental strength as they thought of being in the weakest team,” said Basnyat. “The players believed in them only after winning the match against China,” he said adding, “Nepal was the best team among the four nations.”

Basnyat said Nepal’s next target would be to register victories against teams like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the Asia Cup. “Nepal’s competition is not with Thailand, China and Hong Kong. If we prepare well, we can beat top opponents as the level of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka is not as good as of Pakistan and India,” said Basnyat.