KATHMANDU: Nepal’s Dipendra Singh Airee is a 24-year-old policeman dubbed “The Tiger”, who hopes to make use of his record-breaking batting abilities to spice up his nation on the T20 World Cup.
Final September, Nepal’s victory by a staggering 273 runs in opposition to Mongolia was the most important margin by runs in all T20s — however Airee’s astonishing half in that win included the quickest T20 fifty in simply 9 balls.
The rising star smashed sixes from every of the primary six balls he confronted, earlier than finishing his quickfire half-century to beat the earlier document of 12 balls.
Then in April in opposition to Qatar, he grew to become the third man to hit six sixes in a single over in a T20 worldwide.
However he has additionally proven himself to be a stellar fielder, pulling off sensational catches and spectacular run outs — and hopes to offer a efficiency to make his Himalayan nation proud.
“I’ll do my greatest to play a task to make the crew victorious”, Airee informed Nepal’s Kantipur Tv earlier this month. “I get motivated by the help I get from everybody,” he added.
“They name me by the title ‘tiger’ and that motivates me additional. It makes me wish to do as a lot as attainable, to offer my 110 per cent.”
‘AMONG THE FINEST’
Nepal head to the 20-nation World Cup sitting a lowly seventeenth within the ICC rankings, however Nepal’s chief selector Dipendra Chaudhary mentioned Airee might make all of the distinction.
“His off-spin bowling is among the many best,” Chaudhary informed AFP. “His health, work ethic, and crew spirit stand out. I consider after we look again he might be counted as certainly one of Nepal’s greatest gamers in historical past”, Chaudhary added. “He’s very gifted and hardworking. He started his profession as a medium-paced bowler earlier than transitioning right into a batsman and now serving as an all-rounder.”
Airee mentioned he was “very glad” to be going to the World Cup, recalling how he watched the final match from Nepal on a large display screen projected in a market.
“After we certified, I used to be crying from the underside of my coronary heart,” he informed Kantipur in an interview.
‘REMARKABLY GIFTED’
Humble and media-shy, Airee first performed within the 2016 Underneath-19 World Cup.
“He was uncooked however remarkably gifted: he was observed by the system at a younger age,” Chaudhary mentioned, including that the policeman has a pure “shy manner”.
“He’s extraordinarily humble and speaks little or no,” he mentioned. “He’s very moral in his work and spends most of his time on the bottom.”
The T20 World Cup begins Saturday, co-hosted by america and West Indies, with Nepal’s first sport on June 4 in Dallas.
“We’ve got ready sufficient for the World Cup, however frankly different groups are higher than us,” Chaudhary mentioned. “However it’s a sport, and we hope for good video games and a superb efficiency.”
Nepal’s preparation had been overshadowed by a push to incorporate controversial star Sandeep Lamichhane within the squad, after the ex-skipper and spin bowler was denied a US visa.
Lamichhane, 23, was as soon as the poster boy for cricket in Nepal, however was not included within the authentic squad as a result of he was convicted of raping a younger lady in a Kathmandu lodge in 2022.
His eight-year sentence for rape was quashed on attraction this month.
Nepal will play their first two group video games in america adopted by two within the West Indies.
“Greater than a win or loss, we’re getting ready for the groups to play good cricket,” Chaudhary added. “Sooner or later, that can assist us have huge nations come and play on our turf or invite us. That would be the largest win.”
Revealed in Daybreak, Could thirtieth, 2024