This has reference to the news story “Win is more important than century, says Khadka” (THT, April 19, Page 13). Cricket is all about team spirit. Sweetly, skipper Paras Khadka has made a brilliant century as Nepal chased Namibia’s 239-9 with one ball remaining. Paras Khadka proved himself to be one of the great players. However, sometimes, such players will not play enough as per requirement of run rate. Such a great player’s low performance regarding run rate will be weakening the morale of the team members during the events. This is the reason why overall performances are not always encouraging. In Nepal, we can see such kinds of low morale of players hindering victory in the games. Therefore, the coach and the trainers should be focused on boosting the morale of the players well before any international is played either on home ground or away. So, the government should also extend basic facilities to the players so that they can perform even better under all conditions. They should be given handsome pay and perks by the governing cricket council, and the private sector can also play a vital role by hiring them in aid promotion like in other countries where they earn more than what they do from the state managed cricket board. Basic infrastructure for regular exercise within home is yet another requirement without which even the best players cannot perform well at the international level. Nepal does not have enough cricket grounds meeting international standard. So the government must focus on building a couple of cricket grounds within the capital city and outside so that more players can be given more space to play, and new and emerging talents can be found to make the national team strong. Hats off to the Nepali national team that proved their mettle, and displayed their quality of the sportsmanship when it was needed badly.

Saroj Wagle, Bara

Look ahead

Apropos of the news story “Construction of Outer Ring Road in Valley to start from next fiscal” (THT, April 16, Page 2), whosoever is responsible for this should first complete all the roads that have been left in dusty ruins inside and outside the inner Ring Road built with Chinese assistance decades ago. The scene in and around the road stretching from Koteswor to Ekantakuna and other parts are reminiscent of war-ravaged Aleppo in Syria. What about impact on water sources “Outer Ring Road may plug groundwater supply in Valley” (THT, April 15, Page 8 – Ten Years Ago)? Has the government done a comprehensive study on the deadly disruption of the road and buildings (that will invariably crop up) to the ground water resources?  How can the government start constructing Outer Ring Road next year when its DPR, estimated cost for the construction of the road and the total land to be acquired, have yet to be finalized? ‘Look before you leap is what we can say to the government for the time being looking at the past.

Manohar Shrestha, Kathmandu