Basanta worried

The players in Kuala Lumpur have different worries. Some are worried about the matches, while others think about their future as a cricketer. But to Basanta Regmi, it’s study. After passing SLC exams in first division this year, Basanta, 26, thinks he wasted so many years playing cricket. Now he is excited and knows that it is never too late to begin. “I lost so many years. Now I will study,” says Regmi.

Nickname

Out of the 14 players who are taking part in the ACC Trophy Elite Cup in Malaysia, only one player does not have a nick name. And he is none other than Paresh Lohani. The players use the nick names to call their friends except for Lohani. “I don’t know the reason why I am the only one who doesn’t have a nickname,” says opener Lohani. The list of other players’ nicknames goes like this: Sanjam Regmi (Shane), Raj Kumar Pradhan (Baby

or Bablu), skipper Binod Das (Buddy), Dipendra Chaudhary (Dipla), Mehboob Alam (MA), vice captain Paras Khadka (Bhane), Basanta Regmi (Hali), Shakti Gauchan (Dracula), Gyanendra Malla (Gyane), Kanishka Chaugain (Karetha), wicketkeeper Mahesh Chhetri (Kale) and Sharad Vesawkar (Khaire).

Meditation

The Nepali cricketers assemble at Team Manager Pawan Agrawal’s room at 7am every morning. The meeting is neither to discuss the team strategy nor to talk about the game of cricket. The players come to Agrawal’s room for meditation.

The players go to have breakfast only after a 15-minute meditation every morning. The players are enjoying the meditation and Agrawal says he started the meditation for the players as per the advice of psychologist. Assistant coach Samsung Jung Thapa also joins the class, but coach Roy Luke Dias prefers to stay away from that.