There was a time, when ex-captain Gyanendra Malla was in agitation as to why Rohit Paudel was not included in the CAN player classification.
That movement took away the captaincy of Gyanendra. But time changed so fast that within two years Rohit took over the responsibility of captain of the Nepali team and brought success one after the other.
There are those who believe that things like time, circumstances, politics or even his fate are connected to it.
After Gyanendra, Sandeep Lamichhane became the captain. But he himself got involved in the rape case. The team does not have seniors and players who deserve to be captains, but this young man from Nawalparasi Varghat has got the responsibility of captaincy.
He became the captain, Nepali cricket in almost two years of his leadership, the national team and Rohit himself have created many records of success.
Under his captaincy, Nepal secured the One Day International (ODI) with a spectacular comeback in the World Cup League-2.
Reaching the finals of the ACC Premium Cup, they were selected for the Asia Cup for the first time and played against Test nations like India and Pakistan.
And qualified for the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup after 10 years by defeating UAE.
These achievements under Rohit’s leadership were unbelievable for the players, supporters and CAN officials of the national team.
And now Rohit Paudel has become the youngest captain of the ninth edition jointly organized by America and West Indies.
Swimmer Gaurika Singh became famous as the youngest athlete at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Is being the youngest captain an achievement?
Rohit will be 21 years 9 months 2 days old when he captains the first match of the World Cup against The Netherlands on 4th June.
Most of the youth records are in the name of Rohit.
Rohit holds the record of captaining the ODI team at the age of 20.
Rohit became the youngest captain even when he appeared in the historic one-day competition in the Asia Cup.
He is the sixth young player to play one day at the age of 15 years and 335 days.
Being the youngest captain is not an achievement.
Even in a huge competition like the World Cup, the team chooses seasoned and experienced players as the captain.
If we look at the other 19 participating nations, most of the senior players have been entrusted with the responsibility of the team.
For example, the captaincy of the Indian team is on the shoulders of 37-year-old veteran player Rohit Sharma.
England’s Jos Buttler is 33 years old, Australia’s Mitchell Marsh is 32 years old.
Canada’s captain Saad Win Zafar and Scotland’s Richie Berrington are 37 years old.
Papua New Guinea’s Asad Vala (36 years), New Zealand’s Kane Williamson and Ireland’s Paul Stirling (33 years) are experienced captains in this World Cup.
After Rohit, the young captains are Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan and Bangladesh’s Nazmul Hussain Santo.
Both were 25 years old.
Some may fear that being a younger captain will make it difficult to handle the pressure of a tournament like the World Cup.
Jagat Tamata, the former coach of the national team, says, “If the young players play openly, there is a possibility that it will give positive results.”
Both these examples can be seen in world cricket.
Hardworking
Rohit seems to be leaving no stone unturned to prove himself worthy.
As much as Nepal has achieved under his leadership, Rohit’s ‘captain’s innings’ is also considered important in some matches.
Rohit’s adventurous captaincy was seen in the decisive semi-final against UAE, which will be selected for the T20 World Cup.
Now bringing more edge to his game, Rohit seems to be ‘setting’ himself in the role of ‘off spinner’ which is lacking in the national team.
What is interesting is that his batting has also become sharp on the eve of the World Cup.
Rohit, who scored a century in the competition against West Indies ‘A’ in Kathmandu, was presented as a ‘one man army’.
Not only Rohit, there are many young players in the Nepali team.
However, on the eve of the World Cup, there was a lot of talk about removing Rohit and giving the responsibility of captaincy to another player. But that topic has become limited recently.
However, that is not a rumor. Even before the start of the World Cup, Rohit has already garnered attention as the youngest captain. There is a curiosity in the minds of many that they will be able to turn that discussion into a great performance.
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