Shakti Gauchan

Playing career

Shakti Gauchan represented Nepal at Under-17 level in February 2001 when he played in the ACC Under-17 Asia Cup in Bangladesh. He played in the 2002 ICC Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand the following year, also making his debut for the senior side in the 2002 ACC Trophy in Singapore.

He spent the next two years in the Under-19 side, playing on a tour of India and the Youth Asia Cup in Pakistan in 2003 and the 2004 ICC Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh. He returned to the senior side in March 2004 when he made his first-class debut in the 2004 ICC Intercontinental Cup against the UAE, also playing against Malaysia in the same tournament.

A strong candidate for the Indian U-16 National team at one point, the lanky left arm spinner was seemingly destined to shoulder Nepali cricket and raise it to a higher level given his contributions have been invaluable to the earlier as well as recent successes of the national team. Gauchan was very impressive from the get-go and in his very first tournament for Nepal, the 2002 ACC Trophy, Gauchan bowled at an exceptional economic rate of 2.28 runs per over and bagged seven wickets. The right handed all-rounder shone with the bat as well amassing 248 runs in total at an average of 41.33 including two half centuries.

He also played in the ACC Trophy and in ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament matches against Singapore, the UAE and Hong Kong in 2004. In 2005, he played in the Repêchage Tournament of the 2005 ICC Trophy, in which Nepal finished third after beating Qatar in a play-off.

In 2006, he played in a play-off match against Namibia to decide the final spot in the 2006 ICC Intercontinental Cup. Needing an outright win to qualify, Nepal could only secure a draw after there was no play on the first day. Later in the year, he played on a tour of Pakistan with Nepal in addition to playing in the ACC Trophy and ACC Premier League. He also represented his country at the 2007 ACC Twenty20 Cup.

After being left out of the squad for the 2010 Asian Games as well as the 2011 ACC Twenty20 Cup, Gauchan was considered a misfit for the youngest version of the game among the supporters and lovers of Nepal cricket. However, being the player that he is, Gauchan never gave up and fought for and secured a place in the Twenty20 squad for the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. Gauchan justified his selection, silenced all his critics and rose to limelight once again after taking a total of 16 wickets, becoming the second leading wicket-taker in the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in UAE, which included a hat-trick against Denmark. He was one of the two Nepalese players besides skipper Paras Khadka to be chosen in the best XI of the tournament by ESPNcricinfo. After the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, Shakti was called by popular IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals. He impressed in the training; he bowled Indian cricket maestro Rahul Dravid and took the wicket of Australian batsman Brad Hodge. Rajasthan Royals later tweeted about Shakti saying, 'For now, Shakti Gauchan will be training and gaining valuable experience at the nets. Nevertheless, a great leap ahead for Nepali cricket.'

In the 2012 ICC World Cricket League Division Four, he set up Nepal’s convincing victory over Malaysia, with a new record. The left-arm orthodox spinner's figures of 10-8-2-3 in their division 4 match is the best economical bowling spell ever in limited over encounters. Had it been an One Day International (ODI) match, he would have shifted West Indies’ Phil Simmons to the second place. Simmons’ figures of 10-8-3-4 against Pakistan in 1992 stands as the best in the ODIs.

Numerous performances as such and examples of Gauchan single-handedly carrying the weight of the team are there aplenty. 15 wickets in the 2012 ACC Trophy Elite, 16 wickets in the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier and 10 wickets in the 2012 Division Four are some of Gauchan’s major contributions in recent tournaments, all of which have played a pivotal role in the recent successes experienced by the senior squad.

In the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, he was phenomenal in an 80 run win over Hong Kong in the first group match and was awarded the man of the match for his impressive 3 wicket haul. He took total of 5 wickets playing three matches in the tournament. He took 5 wickets during the 2014 Asian Games with an exceptional economy rate of just 3.54. He also took 10 wickets in the 2014 ICC World Cricket League Division Three at an average of 12.80 and an exceptional economy rate of just 2.87.

In the 2015 ICC World Cricket League Division Two, he picked up 7 wickets at an average of 21.57 and an economy of 3.40.

Former New Zealand cricketer Iain O'Brien openly admired Shakti on his Twitter page and suggested county cricket clubs of New Zealand to pick him up. "Can a county please pick up Nepal's Shakti Gauchan for two reasons; a) he's awesome b) I'd love to learn all about him and his cricket," he tweeted.

His contributions with the bat, the ball and in the field have continued to this day, more than a decade after his first donned the national colors of red and blue for Nepal, and Gauchan has no intention to stop anytime soon.

Man of the match awards

The following list illustrates all the matches in which Gauchan has won the Man of the Match awards while representing Nepal in international series/tournaments.