Dharan, also known as the ‘capital of sports’ in Eastern Nepal, has made a large impact in the history of cricket. For a very long time, it has been infatuated with the game of cricket; a craze that dates back to more than 45 years. It was the Britishers based there who built one of the best cricket grounds in Nepal, thus motivating the locals to jump up and wield their bats, cementing Dharan’s role in increasing cricket’s appeal in the country. Reigning victorious in several national level tournaments, Dharan has successfully produced cricketers of international standards.

The Sunsari Cricket Association has been fuelling the development of cricket in the region, since it is the most popular game here after football. But there are hitches too, like the government’s hesitation in supporting the management of the cricket ground and of course, the lack of a national-level tournament for the past seven years. According to Rajkumar Karmacharya, General Secretary of the Darshan Memorial Trust and District Cricket Association, these shortcomings are standing in the way of Dharan’s potential to host international level games.

But national tournaments, albeit a few, have been organised in the past. The Jaya Trophy, seven years ago, was one of the most prominent, and Dharan had won twice in 2053 and 2054 BS, as well as the Eastern Regional Tournament in 2059. Koshi Zone won the Jaya Trophy in 2041 BS and 2043 BS, in which cricketers form Dharan played an important role. More than 50 district level cricket events have been organised here including Youth 19 Selection which produced international level stars like Kiran Agrawal, Anand Agrawal, Angel Acharya, Ratan Rauniyar and Manjit Shrestha- all from Dharan. Kiran Agrawal, an outstanding athlete and opening batsman in the national team, took Nepali cricket to another dimension. Youth team’s Anand Agrawal, who went to Hong Kong to play for Nepal, has left cricket and now runs a business. National players Basanta Sharma and Bhavesh Thapa went to Malaysia for employment and after four years returned with the same enthusiasm for the game. Angel Acharya is still in the U-15 national team while Sudhakar Ghale has been recently selected for District One team this year. The cricket rage is heating up even more now. Dharani cricketers have come together to organise the Darshan Memorial Cricket Tournament on a national level, without the government’s aid and they hope for its continuity.

The Darshan Memorial Cricket Running Cup 2061 The tournamant, which ran from 20th-30th March this year, was organised in the memory of late Darshan Shrestha, an enigmatic Dharani youngster, co-pilot in RNAC, who passed away at an early age in an airplane crash. His friends established a trust three years ago, with his parents as the patrons, since Darshan himself had been a fine cricketer, successfully leading his teams to victories during his school years in India and pilot training in Texas, USA. Darshan’s father, Prabhu Shrestha, says his passion for cricket was the reason they supported the game.

This is the first national level cricket tournament in Dharan since the Jaya Trophy. After successfully conducting a national level cricket tournament, in which six of the best teams in the country took part, with only Rs 2 Lakhs 50 Thousand as its budget, the cricketers from Dharan feel very optimistic. District Development Committee, Sunsari Dharan Municipality, Carlsberg Beer and Mayos Noodles were the main sponsors. Pokhara Cricket Club won the tournament with Rs 20,000 and a trophy as the prize and runner-up Yeti Airlines won Rs 10,000 and a trophy. The other participating teams were Purbanchal Academy, Biratnagar, BP Academy Cricket Team, Janakpur team and organisers Dharan team. The tournament was held on league-*****-knockout basis.

According to Sudhir Shrestha, the trust’s chairman, cricket craze is very important in providing the Nepali youth with a productive outlet to channel their energies in the right direction; it prevents them from resorting to drug abuse, a major social problem in the region. The tournament has raised hopes of all Nepali cricketers, since it not only gave opportunity to a new breed of cricketers from the east to play with national level players but also brought back previous champions to the ground. It has given birth to Laxman Shrestha who was awarded the Best Batsman and Iraj Shrestha the Best Bowler. Even though Pokhara ousted the home team from the tournament in the semi-finals, Dharan is still pleased to be able to host a national level tournament on their home grounds.

source: http://www.wavemag.com.np/2005/may/cricket.html