10 Facts about Paras Khadka – The versatile captain of Nepal

10 Facts about Paras Khadka – The versatile captain of Nepal: The current captain of the Nepal National cricket team, Paras Khadka is a right-handed batsman, a right-arm medium-fast bowler, and an occasional off break bowler. The 28-year-old is currently the 75^th ranked T20I batsman in the world. He was groomed for captaincy through positions of leadership in age-group teams and he took over the national captaincy in 2009.

1. Birth:

Paras Khadka was born on 24th October, 1987 in Kathmandu, Nepal.

2. Age Group Cricket:

He first represented Nepal at the Under-15 level in the Under-15 Asia Cup in the U.A.E in December 2002. He then played for the Under-19s the following year, playing once against India Under-19s, and also in the 2003 Youth Asia Cup in Pakistan.

After playing in the ACC Under-17 Cup in India (2004) he played in his first Under-19 World Cup, the 2004 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Bangladesh. He debut for the senior side was in the same year when he played against Malaysia in the 2004 ICC Intercontinental Cup, also his first-class debut. He was part of the Nepal side which won the 2005 ACC U-19 Cup held in Nepal. The home side beat Malaysia in the final thus qualifying for the 2006 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup to be held in Sri Lanka.

3. 2006 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, Sri Lanka:

Nepal won the plate tournament in the World Cup, beating Test-playing nations New Zealand and South Africa along the way. Khadka was one of the 7 players from this winning side who went on to play international cricket for Nepal.

4. Captaincy:

He played in the 2007 ACC Under-19 Cup in Kuala Lumpur which Nepal again won after beating Afghanistan in the final. He then played in the 2007 ACC Twenty20 Cup in Kuwait and captained Nepal in the 2008 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Malaysia, leading Nepal to the tenth-place finish.

He led his country in the 2008 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup. The 2010 ICC World Cricket League Division Five took place in February 2010 in Nepal and was a massive success for the home side. Nepal defeated the United States by 5 wickets in the final and Khadka’s captaincy was hailed.

5. Memorable Performances:

In 2012, Nepal won the 2012 ACC Trophy Elite title in the UAE, where he scored a total of 291 runs at an average of 72.75 and picked up 9 wickets. He also scored his maiden century against Kuwait in the tournament. He was named the Player of the Tournament. Then he led Nepal to win the 2012 ICC World Cricket League Division Four in Malaysia. He was also named the Player of the Tournament in the 2013 ACC Twenty20 Cup where he scored a total of 207 runs with an average of 41.40.

In 2014 ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, he scored 41 runs in both matches against Hong Kong and Bangladesh. He became the eighth player in T20I history to a take wicket with the first ball of his career. He scored an unbeaten 123 off 114 balls in a practice match against Eastern Invitational XI, a cricket team of South Africa, when Nepal toured South Africa as a preparation for a tournament in January 2015.

He was selected in Marylebone Cricket Club squad for the Emirates T20 tournament which was held in March 2015. He scored 137 runs in the Twenty20 International series against the Netherlands at an average of 45.66.

6. Boycott:

In May 2010, 18 members of the national cricket team, led by Khadka, held a press conference and said they will not play the national league because of the behavior of Cricket Association of Nepal. They demanded restructuring of Cricket Association of Nepal and better facilities for players. This resulted in the Board being drawn into controversy of financial mismanagement.

7. Man of the Match Awards:

Khadka has won 24 Man of the Match awards while representing Nepal in international tournaments.

8. Player of the Series Awards:

He won 4 Player of the Series Awards; the 2012 ACC Trophy Elite, 2013 ACC Twenty20 Cup, 2015 ICC World Cricket League Division Two and 2015 Netherlands Tour.

9. Personal Life:

He married his longtime girlfriend Prapti Rajyalaxmi Rana on 26 February 2015, and he enjoying his married life now.

10. Individual Honours:

He has been honored with the Nepal Sports Journalists Forum (NSJF) Pulsar Player of the Year award thrice.

(Information source: Wikipedia)