Kathmandu, August 3

After the disastrous ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier and ICC World Cricket League Championship in Scotland and Ireland, Nepal cricket team returned home with empty-handed here on Monday.

On arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport, skipper Paras Khadka said they did not play well and gave low standard performance at the most important tournament. “We were well prepared but could not deliver,” he added that they played as a team throughout the tournament. “There is a huge challenge for us to rise from this level. During the tournament we played 20 or 30 per cent of our potential.”

Nepal had finished in the 13th position off 14 teams ICC World T20 Qualifiers. Before their departure for the tournament the team was confident of winning trophy and returning back with a place in T20 World Cup, India. Khadka said that their plan did not work during the tournament. “There is no reason behind the loss,” Khadka said, adding that they still have WCLC for the next two years, which would give them high-level cricket. “Maybe we are putting too much pressure on ourselves; I don’t have exact answer for our performance. We have to learn a lot from the outcomes of the tournament and move ahead accordingly,” he said insisting to develop strong domestic structure and provide opportunity for all players in international cricket.

Coach Pubudu Dassanayake said that they were disappointed by the performance of the team and took the responsibility along with the team for the loss. “I want to tell the cricket loving fans, as a team I apologise for this performance,” he said. “When we were deprived of our T20 status, it was like a part of our body was taken off.” Dassanayake added that the conditions were not suitable for them. “We failed in New Zealand and in the United Kingdom despite lot of training to acclimatise the seaming conditions. When the pressure time came, we didn’t handle well and didn’t fight back well,” he said.

He added the team could move into higher level on their own, if they had good cricket season. “There are many things that we can take. We were exposed because those batsmen who performed for us in the past didn’t click this time and the team now understands that everyone needs to come up.”