On this Wednesday (August 1), while the Netherlands are making a comeback in the ODI cricket after more than four long years, Nepal will be kick-off their ODI journey in the same time as they will meet in the first ODI of two-match ODI series at VRA Cricket Ground (Amstelveen).

Since earning the ICC Affiliate member status in 1988, Nepal has worked hard to gain this stage. Nepal promoted to the ICC associate member in 1996 and then slowly they have first gained the T20I status and now achieve the ODI status for the first time after finishing at the ninth place of 2018 ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier.

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Nepal skipper Paras Khadka calls the Netherlands game is only the beginning of Nepal cricket. The 30-year-old wrote in his column for icc-cricket.com, “This has been such a long, amazing journey for Nepal cricket but playing our first ever One-Day Internationals against the Netherlands is only the beginning. We have always wanted to get to this point but the challenge is to keep on growing. Eight years ago we were playing in ICC World Cricket League Division Five and now we are among the top 16 nations in the world, with ODI status guaranteed for the next four years.”

Khadka claims that their next goal is to gain the Test status, the highest status in the international cricket.

He wrote in his column, “I hope we can keep this going and continue to grow because our next goal is to become a Test-playing country. We have worked hard for ODI status and the games against the Netherlands are opportunities for us to explore ourselves, enjoy the experience and hopefully put up good performances.”

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Khadka continuously mentioned their hard work to achieve this feat. Commenting about their best moments in cricket history, Khadka chose the qualification for the 2014 ICC World T20 and this year’s ICC World Cup Qualifier.

Khadka wrote, “One of the happiest days since then was the day – 27 November 2013 – when we beat Hong Kong off the last ball to qualify for the 2014 ICC World T20 in Bangladesh. I remember feeling very nervous. You have dreamed all these years and then it’s there in front of you. Three and a half hours away. You can make the biggest step in your cricket careers. It did take a lot out of us. We played some of our best cricket during those three matches at the ICC World T20, against Hong Kong again, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

“Then this year qualifying from ICC World Cricket League Division Two in Namibia and making it to the ICC World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe was another special moment. Those are the high points. This year has been so important for my generation of cricketers because we have worked so hard to get to this point.”

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The 30-year-old all-rounder is looking ahead to the qualifying stages for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 as he believes that it is a wonderful opportunity.

Khadka wrote, “We are already looking ahead to the qualifying stages for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. This is a wonderful opportunity. The government in Nepal are looking to help us grow and hopefully, we will have a fully functioning cricket board soon as well. If we can get all the resources together then hopefully we will have good days ahead for Nepal cricket.”

Talking about his personal experience, Khadka further added, “I’ve been playing for 15 years and I never thought I’d get this far. But there will come a time when it is enough – it might be in six months or six years. But for now, I want to contribute as much as possible and keep pushing myself. It all comes down to setting standards and taking it from there. As a captain, it has been a fabulous journey and I hope it will continue. The most important thing is to keep performing and to help the team grow.”