Nepal, currently an associate nation in international cricket, harbors the dream of achieving Full Membership status within the International Cricket Council (ICC). This prestigious recognition, achieved by Afghanistan and Ireland in 2017 after a 17-year gap since Bangladesh’s inclusion in 2001, entails meeting specific performance criteria set by the ICC. Former captain Paras Khadka’s vision, shared in an interview (2020) with reknowned Indian Commentator Aakash Chopra, outlines Nepal’s aim to become a Test-playing nation by the early 2030s, adding a profound layer of aspiration to the cricketing journey ahead. In this article, we’ll explore the benchmarks Nepal must attain to realize its dream of Full Membership, examining the standards used by the ICC when reviewing such applications and drawing parallels with the successful journeys of other nations in achieving this cricketing milestone.
How Can you get a Test Status?
There is no clear pathway mentioned now for getting a test status or a full membership of ICC. However, there are few criterias set by ICC to apply for full membership or a test status.
(A) Performance Criteria:
• ODI Rankings and ICC Intercontinental Cup: The applying team must either feature on the ICC’s official ODI rankings table or secure a first or second position in at least one edition of the ICC Intercontinental Cup over the previous eight years. Nepal feature in ICC’s official ODI rankings table but the Intercontinental cup is now scrapped and it is unclear what the new criteria is.
• Participation in ICC Events: The team should have actively participated in a minimum of three ICC Cricket World Cups and/or ICC World T20 events in the preceding eight years. Nepal have qualified for a T20 World Cup for the first time in 10 years. Nepal need to qualify for two more world cups until 2032 to apply for a test status.
• Victories Over Full Member Teams: The applying team needs to register victories against:
(a) One Full Member team (ranked in the top ten of the official ICC ODI or T20I rankings) in ICC Cricket World Cup, ICC CWC Qualifier, ICC World T20, or ICC World T20 Qualifier.
(b) Four victories against two or more Full Member teams (ranked in the top ten of the official ICC ODI or T20I rankings) in bilateral ODI and/or T20I cricket. This should be accomplished over the previous eight years.
Nepal do not fulfill both of these criteria. It is very difficult for Nepal to fulfill this criteria as Nepal do not get enough chances to play with full members. Nepal have never beaten a full member till now and they need to have four victories within 2032 to apply for this status.
• Women’s Cricket Participation: The applying team should have either participated in at least one ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup or ICC Women’s World T20 over the previous four years or currently feature on the ICC’s official women’s rankings table. This seems to be one of the most difficult part to fulfill for Nepal as they are in one of their lowest phases in women cricket. Women Cricket need to progress alot if Nepal dream of a test status.
• Youth Development: Participation in at least two editions of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in the last eight years is a prerequisite. Nepal have qualified for ICC U19 World Cup in 2024. Nepal should qualify for one more U19 world cup within 2032. This is the only criteria that looks attainable easily for Nepal.
(B) Participation and Domestic Structures:
• Domestic Participation Structures: The applying team must establish national 50-over and 20-over tournament structures, each comprising at least three teams, with List A status. Nepal have 50-over and 20-over tournaments but ICC do not give List A status to them. Infact, ICC do not give List A status to any associate team’s domestic leagues. So, this criteria is impossible to fulfill.
• Pathway Structures: Satisfactory junior and women’s pathway structures must be in place to nurture young talent.
• Player Pool: The applying team needs to maintain a sustained and sufficient pool of players to support strong and consistent national-level selection across senior men’s, U19, and women’s teams.
• Domestic Participation Levels: Evidence of strong domestic participation levels and significant growth in the sport over the previous eight years is essential.
(C) Infrastructure:
• ODI Venue Accreditation: Nepal should have access to at least two ODI venues accredited by the ICC for Full Member matches. (Though Nepal has two ODI venues where ODIs can be played, no full members have played in those grounds.)
• Domestic Venue Support: Appropriate venues and facilities to support and sustain domestic tournament structures, as outlined in first point of (B), are crucial.
(D) Development Program:
• Coordinated Coaching and Talent Identification: Implementation of a coordinated and developed general coaching and talent identification program over the previous four years is necessary. The primary aim should be to increase awareness and enjoyment of cricket across all age groups.
• Comprehensive Training Programs: The applying member must have implemented, over the previous four years, a coordinated and developed program to train coaches, umpires, curators, and scorers.
(E) Recognition and Support:
Recognition and support from the relevant national government agency/department responsible for sport in Nepal, along with evidence demonstrating appropriate status, structure, recognition, membership, and competence, are crucial. This supports Nepal’s case to be recognized by the ICC as the primary governing body for the administration, management, and development of cricket in the country.
But Do These Criteria Actually Apply?
It is unsure that these criteria would actually apply and ICC would award test status based on these criterias. Afghanistan, a full member is currently without a womens team but they are playing test cricket and no eligibility criteria apply to them. Ireland and Afghanistan were awarded the test status and full membership in 2017 when they completely dominated the Intercontinental Championship. Ireland won the competition 4 times and Afghanistan won it 2 times. Since then, ICC has scrapped the I-Cup.
At one point, the ICC tied so much significance to the I-Cup that the winner of the 2015-17 edition was set to take on the lowest-ranked Test nation in a four-match Test Challenge. If the Associate won the series, they would have provisional Test status for four years. It meant that Afghanistan’s win over Ireland in March 2017 put them in the driver’s seat to win the I-Cup and face Zimbabwe.
But the significance of that win was devalued a few months later, when the ICC bestowed Test status on both nations. Instead of transferring the spot in the Test Challenge to the next-highest-ranked Associate in the I-Cup – the Netherlands – the ICC scrapped the Test Challenge, arguing it had been specifically designed with Afghanistan or Ireland in mind.
Sine then there have been no signs of I-Cup and ICC do not look interested in bringing that tournament back too. This puts a big question for the future of red ball cricket among associates and their pathway to play test cricket.
If we even go by the eligibility criteria mentioned above, the points mentioned are challenging for Nepal to achieve in the near future, but the country has performed exceptionally well in both formats of the game they play over the past year. The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) and the Nepal Sports Council play crucial roles in Nepal’s pursuit of full member status. The legend of Nepal cricket, Paras Khadka, is a secretary of CAN, and he has already articulated his vision regarding Nepal obtaining full member status a few years ago. Nepal backed by a huge fan following and their recent success in their matches need to put up consistent performances in the field for many years to come. The results in ground are bringing a lot of sponsors for CAN and if the team keeps performing like they are doing now, the huge fan following may compell ICC to make Nepal a full member within the next decade.
Discussion about this post