Cricket Association of Nepal


Cricket Association of Nepal is the official governing body of cricket in Nepal. Its headquarters are situated in Mulpani, Kathmandu. It is Nepal's representative at the International Cricket Council and has been an associate member since 1996 AD. It is also a member of the Asian Cricket Council.
The board was dissolved by the government of Nepal in November 2014 on the grounds of incompetence and a three-member ad hoc committee was established with a new president designated by the government itself.
In April 2016, CAN was suspended by the International Cricket Council, on the grounds of government interference in its operations. However the suspension did not prevent Nepal's national teams from participating in ICC tournaments.
The ICC welcomed the elections of the board held in September 2019. On 13 October 2019, the ICC lifted its suspension of the Cricket Association of Nepal, and formally reinstated the board on a conditional basis on 14 October.
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National teams

Men's white-ball team: Nepal played their first One-Day International in August 2018 and has since won multiple ICC tournaments, including two T20 World Cups. As of April 2025, Rohit Paudel leads the ODI & T20I team.
Women's team: Nepal qualified for their first Women's T20 global qualifier in 2025. They haven't won any women's tournaments yet, but they've been steadily rising in recent years. As of April 2025, the team is captained by Indu Barma.
Under-19s team: Men's U-19 and Women's U-19 teams regularly compete in the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cups. The most recent captains are Naren Bhatta for the men's team and Puja Mahato for the women's team.
Reserves : The Nepal A is the second-tier men's team, focusing on developing players and providing them with exposure through tours and warm-up matches. The team plays in various formats to prepare players for the senior team.
Disability teams: Cricket Australia is committed to creating inclusive environments for people with disabilities. The teams are not directly administered by the Cricket Association of Nepal, but they consistently receive its support and the teams include:
These teams participate in various national and international competitions, promoting the growth of cricket among players with disabilities.

Province Cricket Associations

Cricket Association of Nepal is an administrative organisation responsible for cricket in Nepal. CAN has 7 member provincial cricket associations. Each provincial cricket association affiliated with the Cricket Association of Nepal selects a representative team to participate in Nepal's major domestic cricket tournaments each season.

Domestic teams

CAN maintains a strong yet independent relationship with the Cricket Players Association Nepal to ensure proper players' rights, welfare provisions, and pay agreements.

Domestic Tournaments

Province Level

The CAN organise following Provincial-level tournaments:

Men's Senior

Men's Youth

  • Men's Under-19 National Cricket Tournament
  • TB Shah Memorial Cup Under-16 National Cricket Tournament
  • Manmohan Memorial Under-16 National Cricket Tournament
  • Under-14 National Cricket Championship

Women's Senior

Women's Youth

  • Maiyadevi Girls Under-19 Cup National Cricket Tournament
  • Sushil Koirala Memorial Under-19 Girls Cricket Tournament
  • Girl's Under-16 National Cricket Championship

Franchise Level

Men's Senior

Women's Senior

Governance of CAN

Presidents

Between 2016 and 2019, Bhawana Ghimire was CEO of the Cricket Association of Nepal. CAN was suspended during this period for government interventions.

ICC Development Awards

In 2023, CAN was named the **Asia Regional Winner** for **Digital Fan Engagement of the Year** at the ICC Development Awards.
In 2024, CAN received the **Global ICC Digital Fan Engagement of the Year Award**. The recognition highlighted CAN's dynamic digital media growth and its reach across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X, and other platforms. CAN’s campaigns collectively reached approximately 117 million users, with watch time doubling on Facebook, a 277% increase in YouTube watch hours, and over 420,000 new followers gained across platforms.

Controversies

Despite unprecedented success on the field, including victories over Hong Kong and Afghanistan at the 2014 ICC World Twenty20, Nepal went through some turmoil off the field in 2014 with a boycott of the national one-day tournament by the national players with the captain Paras Khadka slamming the Cricket Association of Nepal for their treatment of national players.
The board then came under an investigation by the Commission for Investigation into Abuse of Authority. Later, CIAA filed a case against 18 CAN members including the then President Tanka Aangabuhang, after finding them guilty of misusing around Rs. 14.31 million, which was to be used for developing the game in the country instead. This resulted in several CAN members stepping down from their posts on moral grounds.
In May, members of CAN filed a no-confidence motion against president Tanka Angbuhang, after the organization of the Nepal Premier League was outsourced to a private sports management firm.
In March, the CAN had said Nepal coach Pubudu Dassanayake would get a year's extension to his contract. However, he was only given a three-month extension, which ran out later June. The change in terms, CAN secretary Ashok Nath Pyakuryal said, was due to the board being under investigation. The coach left the country on 4 June due to unresolved contractual issues.
But the Government of Nepal intervened and handed Dassanayake a year's extension. Dassanayake returned to Nepal on 29 August after being invited by the government and was reappointed coach of Nepal's senior and Under-19 cricket teams.
After all these controversies in the year 2014, the Nepal Government dissolved the Angbuhang led CAN committee on 6 November and formed an ad hoc committee under former president Binaya Raj Pandey on an interim basis.
As a result of the governmental involvement in its running, the ICC suspended CAN in April 2016, though allowed the national teams to continue playing in international competitions.