Among the many reasons for the rise of Nepali Cricket, Paras Khadka should be credited more than the other reasons. When there will be the name of Nepali Cricket, the name of Paras Khadka will be taken automatically there. Nepali Cricket and the name Paras Khadka both are inseparable.
It is the name that almost every Nepali is aware of. So in this post let’s talk about how a boy who never wanted to be a cricketer in his childhood becomes the most successful Nepali Cricket Captain and the greatest Nepali Cricketer.
Biography Of Paras Khadka
Paras Khadka is undoubtedly the greatest Nepali Cricketer, and also the most successful captain of Nepali Cricket. He is one of the biggest reasons behind the rise of Cricket in Nepal. If there wasn’t a player and captain like him, then it would have been difficult to think about today’s existence of Nepali Cricket. His contributions towards Nepali Cricket as a player and captain are so remarkable that generations will remember him.
Paras Khadka is a former captain and player of the Nepal Cricket Team. He is a right-handed all-rounder player of Nepal. Making his debut for the national team in 2004, he has represented Nepal in Cricket for 17 years and captained the Nepal Cricket Team for almost a decade(2008-2019).
Personal Information
| Full Name | Paras Khadka |
| Date & Place Of Birth | 24 October 1987, Kathmandu |
| Age | 33 Years |
| Height | 6 Feet 3 Inches |
| Brother | Pankaj Khadka |
| Wife | Prapti Rajyalaxmi Rana, married on 26 February 2015 |
Early Life & Childhood
Paras Khadka was born on 24 October 1987 A.D in Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal. According to him, he had never thought of becoming Cricketer in his childhood. He was a student having more interested in studies than sports. Although he used to play games like football, basketball, cricket in his school days. He was the kind of boy who knows how to balance studies and sports.
While he was in class 10, he participated in an under 15 inter-school cricket tournament as a captain. Later he came to know it was a selection match. His team won the tournament and he was selected to play at the regional level in Kathmandu. Even though he was in the U-19 team, he hadn’t thought of playing nationally. At that time, he was thinking of going abroad for my further education. But, he was doing well as a cricketer. So he decided to choose Cricket as a career instead of going abroad for further studies.
Education
As we mention above, Paras was more in studies in his childhood and wanted to pursue his career by going abroad for his further studies. He has completed his schooling(SLC) at South Point Boarding School in Kathmandu. And after that, he completed his high school(+2) education from White House College in the Science stream. He wanted to become study Bachelor’s in Architecture from his childhood. But due to his increasing interest in Cricket during his U-19 days, he gave up that dream and wanted to choose Cricket as a profession. Although now, he has a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from the Tribhuvan University of Nepal.
Cricket Career
Along with his studies, Paras Khadka had been involved in Cricket from his school days. He has represented Nepal in U-15, U-17, U-19, and National Cricket Team for almost two decades.
In 2002, Paras Khadka first represented Nepal at the U-15 level when he played in the Under-15 Asia Cup held in the United Arab Emirates. In the following next year, he represented Nepal U-19 in the 2003 Youth Asia Cup held in Karachi, Pakistan. And in 2004, he played U-17 ACC Cup in India. In the same year 2004, he played his first U-19 Cricket World Cup in Bangladesh. After giving a good performance in the tournament, he was selected for the Senior Cricket Team for the first time in the same year 2004 to play against Malaysia in the 2004 ICC Intercontinental Cup. This also marked his first-class debut for Nepal. So, his national Cricket career started officially in 2004.
After his debut for the national side, he played in the 2004 ACC Trophy in Kaula Lumpur. Since then he has represented Nepal in many matches and tournaments.
Captaincy Career
More than being one of the greatest cricketers in Nepal ever, he will be always known for his captaincy career. Paras Khadka captained the National Cricket Team of Nepal for over a decade(2008-2019). In 2008, the captaincy of the Nepal Cricket Team was handed over to Paras Khadka from the legendary Nepali Cricketer Binod Das. During his captaincy career, Nepal tastes success in Cricket on many occasions.
Under his captaincy, Nepal won the 2010 ICC World Cricket League Division Five in Nepal, 2012 ICC World Cricket League Division Four in Malaysia, 2012 ACC Trophy Elite in UAE, 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three in Bermuda, and 2014 ICC World Cricket League Division Three in Malaysia.
He is the captain under whom Nepal gained ODI status on 15 March 2018, and he is the one who makes the dream of every Nepalese playing in the Cricket World Cup when Nepal participate in the 2014 ICC T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. Despite many political interferences in Cricket in Nepal, he achieved much success, and though announced his resignation from the captaincy on 15 October 2019.
Retirement
At the age of 34 years, and representing the National Cricket Team for almost 17 years, Paras Khadka recently announced his retirement from international Cricket on 3 August 2021 through his social media handle.
Although he said goodbye to the International Cricket, he had said that he won’t stay far from Nepali Cricket. He has expressed to do anything for the improvement of cricket in Nepal. In the next few months, he is going to establish his own Cricket Academy across the country starting from Kathmandu first. He has even said if he will have to enter politics for the betterment of Cricket in Nepal, he will do that too.
Awards
Some awards won by Paras Khadka:
- NSFJ Pulsar Player Of The Year 2016
- NSFJ Pulsar Player Of The Year 2017
- NNIPA Best Cricketer Of The Year 2017
- Nominee Of ICC Men’s Associate Player Of The Decade(2009-2019)
Records Made By Paras Khadka
During his entire career of over a decade, Paras Khadka has made several national and international Cricket records for Nepal. Below are the highlights of the records made by Paras Khadka:
- He is the first Nepalese player to score a century in T20 International Cricket. On 18 September 2019, he became the first-ever Nepalese cricketer to score a century in T20 Internationals by smashing 106* off just 52 balls against Singapore.
- He is also the first captain to score a century while chasing in T20I. He also holds the record of most runs in an inning by captain in T20I(106*).
- He is one of the 11 Nepalese players to play their first ever ODI match against Netherlands in August, 2018.
- Under his captaincy, Nepal won the 2010 ICC World Cricket League Division Five in Nepal, 2012 ICC World Cricket League Division Four in Malaysia, 2012 ACC Trophy Elite in UAE, 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three in Bermuda, 2014 ICC World Cricket League Division Three in Malaysia, participated in the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh and gained the Twenty20 International status.
- He has played 10 ODI and 33 T20I matches for Nepal making 315 and 799 runs respectively. In List A Cricket, he has played 44 matches and has scored 1497 runs. These statics may look not so big, but his contribution towards Nepal Cricket Team is much more than these.
