'Players need pressure': Nick Pothas demands stronger cricket structure in Nepal

By the narrowest of margins Nepal pushed England to a last-ball thriller in their opening ICC Men’s T20 World Cup contest, hinting at the promise many had hoped to see. Yet the glow faded quickly: a 10-wicket drubbing by Italy and a nine-wicket loss to the West Indies have left the Rhinos winless and searching for answers ahead of Tuesday’s group-stage finale against Scotland.

Head coach Nick Pothas, speaking ahead of that must-win encounter, did not mince words. “If we’re going to improve Nepal cricket, we need to have an infrastructure below,” he said. “Teams only get better when there’s pressure on players to perform. I’m not sure what there exists in Nepal, but players need to feel like they’re under pressure to perform in order for your cricket to improve.”

Pothas praised the squad’s raw talent and passion but argued that progress as a collective has been too gradual. “Unfortunately, what we aren’t doing is we’re not learning fast enough as a group,” he noted. “Leading into the Scotland game, all we want to see guys do is compete, but not make the same errors we’re making repeatedly. That’s the important part.”

The South African coach also highlighted limited exposure to varied conditions as a handbrake on development. “For these players, a lot of their cricket is played in Nepal where the wickets suit their style of play… When you come to a World Cup, you don’t get away with that kind of thing.”

With a vibrant travelling support cheering every boundary, Pothas wants his side to finish on a high. “We’re a very energetic side, a very passionate side with a great following that have come to watch us play so we’d like to give that following something to remember this World Cup by.”

Structural change, he insists, must follow. Discussions with Cricket Association of Nepal secretary Paras Khadka are planned to map out a sturdier domestic pathway that can replicate the heat of global competition.

Scotland batter Tom Bruce, whose side faces Nepal in the dead rubber, sympathised with the challenges confronting Associate nations. “You’re only playing four games in a World Cup. You’ve got to be at your very best every single time,” he said, adding that more fixtures against top-tier nations would be “brilliant” for the game’s growth.

For Nepal, the immediate task is simpler: compete fiercely against Scotland, cut out the lapses, and give their fans a memory worth carrying into the next cycle.