Cow Corner Cow Corner

Rubina Chhetry is an icon for many sportspersons in Nepal. And her story is nothing but inspirational. From being raised by a single mother to being denied passport to travel with Nepal national team, she's seen it all. And she's also seen herself becoming the first ever Nepali cricketer to register a hat-trick in an ICC event, when she singlehandedly defeated Singapore women's team when they required two runs to win and had five wickets in hand. Currently she's captain of Nepali team.

She's also a rebel, having left the cushion of a comfortable job with all strong Armed Police Force team, taking up cricketing activities in her province and making sure her team wins the nationals against the same team she once was a part of. She loves not walking the beaten path. Here, she talks about her journey from backwaters of Nepali cricket to the national team leadership.

Navin Khatiwada has many faces, one of which is that of a sports journalist. Though he's worked for other beats, Navin remains quintessential sports journalist, as he says he enjoyed it more than any other field of work. He has worked extensively in Radio, TV, Print and Online news. I may have started liking him because we had similar tastes. He enjoyed watching the same players that I did, supported the same teams I did across sports. Also he loves his whiskey - perhaps even more than I did!

It might have started as a liking for a person with similar tastes, but over the years I have grown to admire him, for what he is - a cricket enthusiast, lover of all sports, poetry aficionado and a poet with a rebel mind. In this chat, he talks about his fondness of cricket, how he started liking things that he did and also explains why he wrote a thesis on Langston Hughes' 11-line poem 'Harlem' and what it meant for him.

For the uninitiated, here's the poem:

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up

like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore—

And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over—

like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

To those who watched Nepali Cricket in 80s and early 90s, Sushil Chaugai was an allrounder who batted with gumption and bowled with guile. His biggest weapon being swing in conditions that may not favor seam bowling. Yet, Chaugai is better known for his fiery temper with the cricketers whom he managed, especially for Kalaiya Cricket Club in Nepal. Strange, none of his wards complain for his temper. They say Chaugai was instrumental in making them better cricketers and later helped them play for the country (at least some of them).

Chaugai live for two Cs - Cricket and Cinema, and loves them with his core. He is in US now, with his son Kanishka Chaugai - who many believe could have been the next big thing for Nepali Cricket in early 2000s. We caught up with senior Chaugai, who in turn opened his heart for us.

Yub Raj might have taken up cricket full time - at least given it go with full throttle - had he not had Nepal's illustrious cricketers of that generation as his friends. They made sure his cricketing ambition remained limited to academic interest and school squad. But that could not diminish the interest his uncle ignited in him, while he was little bigger than a toddler.

A doctor by profession, Yub Raj loves talking cricket - international or Nepal - with just about anyone.  

Sanjeev Pokharel is Anthropologist by academics. But he doesn't want to wear it on his sleeves too seriously. He says, 'In our chats, we don't have to bring in our field of discipline all the time. Carrying a bit of 'Common Sense' in talks is enough."

Needless to say, he is one of the most sought after commentators in Nepal's media.

In this chat on #CowCorner, we talk about his take on #Cricket, his disenchantment with the game and a lot of digression from the topic - because digressions tell us stories we would not be able to hear if that is lacking

Sanjam Regmi is perhaps the most talkative Nepali Cricketer. He has opinions and he doesn't hesitate to share it with anyone. He always used to ask me, in my cricket reporting days, "Did you read this book?" and would throw names of 3-4 titles. I would not say no, even if I had not read the book. Perhaps I feared being taken as a lesser reporter than I wanted to be seen as.

Sanjam played for the national side way back in 2001, when Nepal team traveled to Canada for ICC Trophy. The following year, he played for the U-19 team in the U-19 World Cup, when Nepal played the Plate Final. That's when Nepal was noticed in international cricket for the first time.

Sanjam may not be the force he once was, with his bowling. But that doesn't stop him from dishing out verbal punches. Listen to what he has to say, in this episode of #CowCorner