Nepal Govt to reward cricketers, other athletes with cash prizes for notable performances

The Nepal government has announced its decision to reward various sportspersons, coaches, and team officials with cash prizes for their outstanding achievements in recent years. The government has recognized and encouraged excellence in the field of sports, particularly cricket, and has brought remarkable achievements on the international stage.

The Cabinet meeting approved the proposal from the Ministry of Youth and Sports to award cash prizes totalling NPR 29.71 million to various sports personnel.

According to The Kathmandu Post, the share of the reward, amounting to NPR 20.47 million, will be distributed among the members of the national men's cricket team and coaching staff for their impressive performance in qualifying for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024.

Nepal is part of Group D in T20 World Cup 2024

The men's cricket team has made history by securing their ticket to the T20 World Cup 2024, which will be held in the West Indies and the United States in June. This will be Nepal's second appearance at a World Cup after their debut in the 2014 World T20 in Bangladesh. The 15 members of the national team will each receive NPR 1.3 million as a reward for their outstanding achievements.

Also Read: Nepal Squad for T20 World Cup 2024: Complete Player list and Squad Details

The recent form of the Himalayan nation has been positive and the support from the fans is a testimony to their rise to becoming one of the most improved international teams. In the recent series against a touring West Indies A side, Nepal won just one game in the five-match assignment, while the visitors dominated with three wins and a game ending in no result. However, the hosts showed fighting spirit, and got the exposure to some T20 cricket under their belt, before finally travelling abroad to feature in the 20-team cricketing extravaganza.

Nepal will begin their campaign at the World Cup under the captaincy of Rohit Paudel, and will play their inaugural match against the Netherlands on June 04, followed by Sri Lanka (June 12), South Africa (June 15) and Bangladesh (June 17). Securing a place in the top two of the Group D will take them to the Super Eights, which will be a challenging task, but quite possible with the amount of talent their squad has.

The Nepal squadron also includes the likes of Dipendra Singh Airee, who recently made headlines for entering an elite list during ACC Men's Premier Cup. The attacking batter repeated the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Kieron Pollard to become the third batter to hit six sixes in an over in T20Is.

Also Check: Watch: Dipendra Singh Airee becomes third player to smash six sixes in an over in T20I cricket

Coming back to Nepalese Govt's move, sportspersons in addition to cricketers were also honoured for their notable performances. Some prominent names in the list include Arika Gurung (Karate) and Palesha Goverdhan (Para-athlete). Both will be rewarded with NPR 1.95 Mn and 1.3 Mn, respectively. Additionally, each of the 12 players of the national kabaddi team will receive a congratulatory sum of 390,000 rupees for winning bronze at the Hangzhou Asian Games.