Paras Khadka announces retirement from international cricket

Paras Khadka announces retirement from international cricket

 Former national team captain Paras Khadka has announced his retirement from international cricket. Stating that playing for Nepal is the best achievement of his life, he said that he is indebted to everyone for their support, love, and encouragement in the cricket journey.

Cricketer Khadka said that he will have a sweet memory as long as he lives on the field for two decades and expressed confidence that he will take Nepali cricket to a new height.

He says that his dream for Nepali cricket is still shifting even after the end of his journey as an international cricketer.

He started his cricket journey in 2002. He started playing cricket for the U-15 team and led the Nepali national team from 2009 to 2019.

Khadka resigned as the captain of the national team on October 15, 2019. Nepali cricket has made remarkable progress under his captaincy

Paras' Retirement: The End of an Era

To the surprise of many, former captain of the Nepali national cricket team Paras Khadka announced his retirement from international cricket on Tuesday.

Khadka has announced the end of his nearly two-decade cricket career on social media. The same thing happened when Paras resigned as a captain about two years ago. But he continued as a player.

But this time, Khadka has decided not to play for Nepal. Expressing gratitude to all Nepali cricket supporters and stakeholders, I have decided to retire from international cricket. Playing for Nepal is the best achievement of my life, ”Paras wrote on social media.

Paras has proved himself to be probably the best player in Nepali cricket. Vikas Dali, who made his debut with Paras, says that an era of Nepali cricket has come to an end with his retirement. ‘Contrary to expectations. There was no time. An era has come to an end. Now Nepal needs him for at least two years, ”said Dali, who made his debut with Paras in 2004.

Incumbents Gyanendra Malla, Sharad Bheshavkar, Basanta Regmi, and Binod Bhandari are the only players left to play since the 2000s. Sharad and Basanta have stopped playing in the national team regularly.

At a time when Nepali cricket is in the process of being handed down from generation to generation, Paras' retirement means a lot. It is a regular process for a player to stop playing after a certain time. But the way Paras led Nepali cricket for a decade, played for the national team for a decade and a half, his contribution is invaluable.

Paras, who started playing cricket in the age group in 2002, made his senior team debut in the 2004 Intercontinental Cup. Paras, who became the captain of the senior team in 2009 at the age of 22, gave many titles and achievements to Nepal under his leadership.

In March 2020, the ACC T20 Eastern Region became the last game for Paras in the national team in Thailand. Paras was not in the team when Nepal won the triangular series at home last April. He withdrew from the team due to injury.

Why retire

Announcing retirement is the most difficult task for a player. But the time will surely come for that too. Paras has also revealed on social media why he has retired now.

"Why now?" Because it is a matter of time. As a cricketer, I have always played my role in the upliftment of the country and the Nepali cricket world. The dream I have seen in my life is the advancement of Nepali cricket, but it requires the joint efforts of the entire cricket community and stakeholders. "If we work honestly, we will definitely take Nepali cricket to a new height," Paras wrote. "My journey internationally is over, but my dream for Nepali cricket is still faltering."

Paras has expressed his gratitude to all those who have joined him in his cricket journey since 2002. "I will always be indebted to the coaches, friends, players, fans, stakeholders, media personnel, and my family for the support and encouragement I have given to the cricket team for the last 18 years since I started in 2002 at the age of 15," he wrote.

Captain in 22 years

For the ACC T20 Cup in 2009, young all-rounder Paras Khadka was named captain of the senior team when he was 22 years old. The team had senior players including the then captain Binod Das. Paras had just graduated from the U-19 team.

When Paras was selected as the captain of the senior team, there were senior players like Binod Das, Shakti Gauchan, Mahbub Alam, and Basanta Regmi in the team.

But Paras faced new challenges and led the Nepali team for a decade. He resigned from the post in 2019 after a decade of captaincy. At the same time, Nepali cricket faced great ups and downs on and off the field.

Talking about Paras' captaincy, former captain Binod Das had said about two years ago that Paras is the finest player ever produced by Nepali cricket and he is the most successful captain ever to lead. I don't have to prove it.

Paras has been described as one of the best captains in associate cricket.

From Division 5 title to ODI recognition

Paras Khadka led the team when Nepal achieved the most important achievement of the senior team so far. Paras was strong in both leadership and performance. His performance and leadership have also proved that.

The history of international cricket in Nepal is not so much. In the 25-year international history, Paras joined the national team for 17 years. That is why the name of Paras is added as soon as Nepali cricket is mentioned. As a former captain, Binod Das said, no one would be upset that Paras is the most successful player and captain of Nepal.

Paras played an important role from the time Nepal was given the title of Division 5 in 2010 until Nepal was recognized as an ODI nation for the first time in 2018.

Similarly, Nepal won the T20I and ODI series under his captaincy since playing the T20 World Cup for the first time. And then everyone has to say that Paras is the 'Most Decorated Player' in Nepali cricket.

Under Paras' captaincy, Nepal won the ICC Division 5 title in 2010 in Nepal. That was the senior team's first title. Similarly, when Nepal played its first T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in 2014, Paras was the captain. When Nepal got its first ODI recognition in 2018 in Zimbabwe, Paras was the captain. Then in 2019, Nepal won both ODI and T20 series against UAE. Paras was the captain in that too.

Vinod Dali was another player who made his debut in the national team along with Paras. But Vinod Dali could not continue in the national team after that. On the other hand, Paras became a legend of Nepali cricket by playing continuously.

The team that played with Paras is now thrilled to remember the past. "It simply came to our notice then. At that time, leadership quality was seen with Paras, 'said Dali.

Players made by chance

Paras became a player by chance. While studying at school, he found out about an inter-school competition magazine and played it. Then I got interested in cricket. After watching ACC U-15 cricket at the TU ground in 2001, Paras emerged as the best player of the game in the same venue.

Paras, who at one time insisted on going abroad, left his Australian visa and continued playing cricket. In which he got success, achievement, respect. Nepal got a good player.

Even after becoming Nepal's vice-captain in 2008, Paras was planning to go abroad. While Nepal was playing Division 5 in Jersey. But luckily for Paras, he did not get a visa and did not go abroad. Later he went to many countries to play cricket.

After becoming the captain of the senior team in 2009, Paras' role in the team increased. Although he was given the captaincy of the senior team at a young age, it seemed that he was burdened at the beginning, but he handled it well.

Under the captaincy of Paras, Nepal's first tour was in UAE and Nepal lost to Malaysia. But that allowed Paras to understand his role. ‘Nepal had its first tour in the UAE under the captaincy of Paras. We also lost to Malaysia. But it was not the leadership of Paras but our performance that we lost badly, 'recalls Vinod Das.

‘Everything happened in the right place for the status that Paras created in Nepali cricket. Paras was also helped. He has deserved the place he has built, 'says Das.

Exciting one-run win

Today is a historic day in Nepali cricket. Three years ago today, Nepal had won its first match in ODIs. In that game, Paras performed brilliantly in the decisive turn and gave an exciting one-run victory. Coincidentally, on the same day, Paras retired.

Batting first after winning the toss in Amstelveen, Nepal lost all their wickets in 48.5 overs and scored 216 runs. Nepal had chased down the Netherlands by 215 runs in the last ball. The heroin that game was Paras. Paras, who scored 51 runs in the innings, took one wicket in the bowling and was also run out in the last over.

Nepal got ODI status in March 2018 and played a historic ODI series against the Netherlands in August.

In the first match on August 1, Nepal failed to reach the target of less than 200. In the second match on August 3, Nepal defended the target and got a thrilling one-run victory over the Dutch. Paras bowled the last over of the match and defended 5 runs. While the Netherlands needed six runs off six balls to win, Paras also scored a run out for just four runs.

Nepali cricket and Paras remained synonymous. When Nepali cricket is pronounced, the first name that comes up is Paras. Paras not only won alone but also led the team.

Paras has won many games alone. How many captains did he play? It has also been praised for its decision-making and challenging role.

According to Das, the role of the captain is crucial in cricket, the role of the captain is important both inside and outside the field. The role of the captain is to decide who will bowl, who will bat in which number, at what time to decide the strategy, what message to send to the player. The slave understands that Paras has succeeded in that too.

Test dream unfulfilled

Paras played for Nepal in all formats except Tests. However, it is not known when Nepal will be recognized as a Test nation. But Paras, who made his debut in first-class cricket, then played for Nepal in T20, List A, T20I, and ODI formats as well.

But Paras' dream of playing Test cricket for Nepal remained unfulfilled. He has said that there is a possibility that Nepal can play Test in the future. But for that, they have repeatedly said that initiatives and efforts should be made from all sectors. Paras also said that it would take another 10-12 years for Nepal to play Test cricket.

But recently, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has been making changes in international cricket. The number of teams participating in the ODI and T20 World Cup has increased. With some changes in Test cricket, Nepal can play even faster.

The only player to score a century in ODIs and T20s

Paras has set many records in Nepali cricket. He has excelled in both ODIs and T20s.

Paras is the highest run-scorer for Nepal in both formats. Similarly, Paras is the only player to score a century for Nepal in ODIs and T20I.

He has scored 315 runs in 10 ODIs, including one century and one half-century. Similarly, he has scored 799 runs in 33 games including 1 century and 4 fifties. He has scored 1114 runs in ODIs and T20s.

Paras' performance in statistics

ODI: 10 games

Batting: 215 runs, 115 high scores, 1 century, 1 half-century

Bowling: 9 wickets, 4/26 best

 

T20I: 33 games

Batting: 799 runs, 106 * High score, 1 century, 4 fifties

Bowling: 8 wickets, 2/11 best

 

List A: 44 games

Batting: 1497 runs, 3 centuries, 115 high scores

Bowling: 26 wickets

 

T20: 56 games

Batting: 1317 runs, 106 * High score, 1 century, 8 fifties

Bowling: 28 wickets

 

First Class: 2 games (2004/05)

Batting: 72 runs, 44 high scores

Bowling: 1 wicket