Nepali Times

Mamta Thapa was only four when she first held a cricket bat. Two decades on, the vice-captain of the Nepali women’s cricket team, is still as passionate about the game that changed her life.

Twenty-two-year-old Mamta was born in Bihar and spent most of her childhood travelling around India with her father who was in the Indian Army. “Cricket will always be my first love,” she says. “People in India play and watch the sports with such passion that it inspired me to play professionally.”

Mamta, who currently lives in Kohalpur of Banke district with her sister, travels 15km to Nepalganj everyday for practice. She started her career as a specialist batsman, but has since moved on to keeping wickets and considers England’s star batsman Kevin Pietersen and New Zealand’s captain and wicket-keeper Brendon McCullum as her role models. A regular member of the national team since 2007, the 4 feet 10 inch cricketer has participated in ACC Women’s T-20, Asian Games, and several international U-19 tournaments. 

However, the rising star suffered a major setback in 2009 when she fractured her hand during the National Games, which meant she had to remain under complete bed rest for months. “During that time I tried to focus on the positives so I wouldn’t be depressed and worked on improving my game as soon as I was able to get out of bed,” she admits.

Mamta made a remarkable return in 2010 at the Asian Games in China when she was flown into Guangzhou on a day’s notice, after initially failing to be selected for the tournament. Her superb wicket-keeping helped Nepal defeat Hong Kong in what she says is one of her most memorable matches. Her hard work and dedication earned her the post of vice-captain the following year.

Her family have been avid supporters and help keep her motivated when she feels overwhelmed trying to juggle her studies and practice. During her time off, Mamta has also dabbled in beauty pageants such as Miss Nepalganj and Miss Madhyamanchal and has been receiving film offers on a regular basis. But the student of Bageshwori Multiple Campus in Kohalpur says she has no plans yet to make the move to the silver screen choosing instead to focus on her game and her degree in rural development.

Despite limited training, resources and less attention compared to the men’s team, the women’s squad has moved up in the rankings. The under-19 team has been particularly impressive and bagged the ACC Women’s Championship for three years:  2009, 2010, and 2012. But the lack of training, support, and funding becomes painfully apparent when Nepali players are competing at senior level against top international teams.“Unless we have regular trainings, more local and international matches our performance in the international level will not improve significantly,” explains Mamta.

Working with the existing facility, the vice-captain keeps her team focused on the larger picture: the World Cup in 2017. “Although it’s going to be a big challenge to win the World Cup, if we can succeed at such a major tournament, it will encourage young women to take up cricket and see a future for themselves in the game.”

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