Kathmandu: Former captain of the Nepali national cricket team Paras Khadka announced his retirement from international cricket on Monday.
“With utmost clarity, respect and gratitude, I have now decided to retire myself from playing international cricket,” Khadka wrote in a Facebook post.
To clear additional queries regarding his retirement, Khadka organized an event in the capital on Wednesday.
“The pride of being a part of the national cricket team and the activities that take place off-field where a lot of great things happen—I will miss all these things,” he said.
Khadka will continue to play domestic cricket.
The intention to resign from the game arose when he stepped down from the captaincy two years ago, Khadka said at the program.
“I have not been detached from cricket, however,” he added, “it’s just that my role in the development of Nepali cricket has changed.”
Khadka now wishes to focus on the management aspect of Nepali cricket.
“Along with the on-field, the off-field scene of cricket needs a lot of improvement,” Khadka said. “Hopefully, I will be able to make it happen.”
Khadka said that while the existing talents in Nepali cricket show great promise and potential to uplift the cricket scene, the country is lagging behind for its managerial shortcomings.
“Government needs to put the sports sector as a priority,” Khadka said.
Khadka also informed that he will launch his own cricket academy very soon.
The firebrand all-rounder played 10 ODIs and 33 T20Is for Nepal, scoring 1114 runs, including seven fifty-plus scores. He also has 17 international wickets to his name.
Khadka represented Nepal in three Under-19 World Cups—in 2004, 2006 and 2008—and was named captain of the side in 2009. His biggest achievement remains in leading his country in the 2014 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh, after finishing third in the 2013 Qualifier. He also starred in the team’s first-ever ODI win, in 2018, against the Netherlands.
“The best moment of my cricketing life is receiving ODI status and qualifying for the world cup,” Khadka said, adding that he now wants to put all his cricketing memories in a book.
“From now onwards my new career has begun,” Khadka concluded. “I want to implement my cricketing knowledge for the development of Nepali cricket.”
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