KATHMANDU: Rohit Kumar Paudel assumed the leadership of Nepal’s national cricket team in 2022, taking charge at a difficult time for the side.

Paudel unexpectedly became captain following rape allegations against cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane. Nepal was also going through a poor run of results, leaving players and supporters disappointed.

He took over while Nepal was struggling in the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2. His appointment, however, coincided with a significant improvement in the team’s performances.

Under Paudel’s captaincy, Nepal staged a strong comeback in the first edition of League 2, winning 19 and losing 15 of their 36 matches, while two matches ended with shared points.

Paudel played a key role in Nepal finishing third in the competition, scoring 909 runs in 33 matches. The top-three finishes also secured Nepal’s qualification for the ICC ODI World Cup Qualifier for the first time, where Nepal faced Test-playing nations West Indies and Zimbabwe.

In 2023, Nepal won the ACC Premier Cup for the first time under Paudel. The victory earned the team a place in the ACC Asia Cup, where Nepal played India and Pakistan in the ODI format for the first time.

Nepal’s progress under Paudel was even more notable in T20Is. During his tenure, Nepal qualified for two consecutive ICC T20 World Cups and won the ICC T20 World Cup Asia and EAP Qualifier title for the first time.

Paudel also led Nepal to their first T20I series victory over a Test-playing nation, beating the West Indies 2-1 in a three-match series in September.

Paudel was 20 years and 73 days old when he became Nepal’s ODI captain, making him the second-youngest captain in ODI history. Only Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan, who took over at 19 years and 165 days, was younger.

Paudel went on to become Nepal’s most experienced international captain, leading the team in a record 122 matches across ODIs and T20Is.

He captained Nepal in 63 ODIs, recording 31 wins, 30 losses and two tied or no-result matches. In 59 T20Is, Nepal recorded 33 wins, 21 losses and three tied or no-result matches under his leadership.

Following Paudel’s departure from the captaincy, the Cricket Association of Nepal appointed Dipendra Singh Airee as T20I captain and Sandeep Lamichhane as ODI captain.

Lamichhane returned to the captaincy after four years, having previously led Nepal in 2022. Nepal has so far played 14 ODIs and 18 T20Is under his captaincy.