Nepal's under-19 women's cricket team has been formally sent off from Kathmandu as it departs for China to compete in the Belt and Road U-19 Women's Cricket Series, a tour the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has framed as a key step in the squad's preparation for the upcoming ICC event. The farewell ceremony, hosted by the country's cricket board in the capital, offered officials an opportunity to address the young players before they board their flight, with CAN vice-president Roshan Singh underlining the importance of the assignment. The occasion also highlighted a busy period for Nepali age-group cricket, as a separate U-19 team was given its own formal send-off in Pokhara for the ACC U-19 Cricket Tournament in Oman.

A Formal Farewell in Kathmandu

The Cricket Association of Nepal organised the farewell in Kathmandu for the Nepali U-19 women's team ahead of its travels, as reported by RatoPati. The destination is the Belt and Road U-19 Women's Cricket Series, an international youth competition being staged in China, and the ceremony served as both a send-off and a statement of intent from the board.

The centrepiece of the event was the message from CAN vice-president Roshan Singh, who told the gathering that the tour is important preparation for the upcoming ICC event. By linking the China series directly to the ICC calendar, Singh made clear that the board views this trip not as a standalone outing but as a deliberate part of the team's build-up.

Key points from the Kathmandu send-off:

  • Organiser: The Cricket Association of Nepal hosted the farewell ceremony in Kathmandu.
  • Team: Nepal's U-19 women's cricket squad, departing for the Belt and Road U-19 Women's Cricket Series in China.
  • Message: CAN vice-president Roshan Singh described the tour as important preparation for the upcoming ICC event.
  • Broader picture: A separate Nepali U-19 team was also formally sent off, this time in Pokhara, for the ACC U-19 Cricket Tournament in Oman.

Preparation for the ICC Stage

Singh's remarks placed the emphasis on the long view. For an age-group side, an overseas series offers something domestic cricket cannot: exposure to unfamiliar conditions, different styles of opposition and the experience of competing under a foreign sky while wearing the national colours. Those are precisely the pressures a young squad must absorb before stepping onto the ICC stage, and the vice-president's public endorsement of the tour signalled that Nepal's administrators see it as an investment in exactly that readiness.

The Belt and Road U-19 Women's Cricket Series gives the players valuable match time against international peers, and it allows team management to observe how individuals respond to competition abroad. For a women's youth programme, every such assignment carries added weight, since fewer fixtures tend to be available to emerging female cricketers than to their male counterparts. Framing the China tour as ICC preparation, as Singh did, reflects a growing awareness within Nepali cricket that development must be planned with the biggest tournaments in mind.

Pokhara Sends Off a Second U-19 Squad

Even as Kathmandu bade farewell to the women's team, the celebration of Nepal's youth cricket continued in Pokhara. There, a separate Nepali U-19 team received a formal send-off ahead of the ACC U-19 Cricket Tournament in Oman, a regional competition organised under the Asian Cricket Council banner.

The twin farewells, staged in two different cities within the same window, underline how full the calendar has become for Nepal's age-group programmes. Two U-19 squads departing for international duty at roughly the same time speaks to the sport's expanding footprint across the country, from the capital to cricketing hubs like Pokhara. It also reflects a sustained pipeline of players progressing through the junior ranks toward senior honours.

For the squad bound for Oman, the ACC U-19 Cricket Tournament represents a familiar and demanding proving ground in Asian youth cricket, where regional rivals meet regularly and where reputations at junior level are often made. The formal send-off in Pokhara, much like the Kathmandu ceremony, carried the same dual message of encouragement and expectation.

Building Blocks for Nepali Cricket

Taken together, the two send-offs paint a picture of a federation actively managing its youth commitments. CAN's decision to host public farewells in both Kathmandu and Pokhara serves a practical purpose: it brings visibility to teams that often operate away from the spotlight, and it connects supporters to the development pathway that eventually feeds the senior national setups.

The women's tour to China, in particular, stands out as a milestone of sorts for a programme seeking more international competition. Match play abroad, competitive conditions and the guidance that comes from touring as a national side are the currencies of progression in associate cricket, and the U-19 women now have the chance to bank that experience before the ICC event arrives.

For now, both squads turn their attention from ceremony to competition. The U-19 women carry the vice-president's message to China, where the Belt and Road series awaits, while their counterparts from Pokhara settle in for the rigours of the ACC U-19 Cricket Tournament in Oman. Results will be noted by followers of the game, but as Roshan Singh made plain at the farewell, the deeper prize is preparation: every innings bowled and scored on these tours is a rehearsal for the bigger tests that lie ahead for Nepali cricket's next generation.