NepalAnil sah| Anil Kumar Sah
Full Name: Anil Kumar Sah(अनिल साह)
Birthplace: Kalaiya, Bara, Nepal
Date of Bith:1998-11-17 (26 yrs)
Role: Wicketkeeper-Batsman
Playing Style: Right-handed batter
Team:Nepal,Janakpur Bolts
Anil Kumar Sah is a prominent name in Nepali cricket, celebrated for his determination and passion for the game. Known for his resilience and adaptability, Anil has become an inspiration for many aspiring cricketers in Nepal. His journey from a budding young player to an established figure in the national team is marked by persistence, hard work, and an unyielding love for cricket
How difficult it is to return to cricket, who knows better than Anil Kumar Sah! If any player in the recent history of Nepali cricket has really struggled a lot for a comeback, it is this Anil. He never gave up. He has done justice to the opportunity he got once again. He wants to give credit to his family for all this. Therefore, winning everyone’s hearts, he has said, ‘Not only me, but my family is playing cricket.’
Anil was born in Kalaiya, Bara. His family was all about cricket. Moreover, it can be said that he has a strong influence on the cricket culture of the Madhesh. He started playing cricket from a young age. Initially, he was considered the future of Nepali cricket, especially as a wicketkeeper. He had the ability to bat in any order. One of the great features of his playing career is that Anil was a member of the team that played the first ODI against the Netherlands.
Entry into domestic cricket
In 2016, he was first included in the Nepali U-19 team. Along with that, he went on a tour of Sri Lanka and scored 32 runs in the match against Malaysia. In the 2017 U-19 Asia Cup, Nepal was all out for 103 runs against Afghanistan. Anil also contributed to this poor score, 50 runs. He played an important role in making Biratnagar Warriors the champion in the 2017 EPL. He took three wickets in the final.
Anil played for APF in the Prime Minister’s Cup One-Day Cricket in 2018. But the next year, he joined the Police team and remained there until 2021. After that, he decided to play for Madhesh Pradesh. This decision had a big impact on his playing career. In the 2021 Saptari Premier League, he hit two consecutive centuries. In the 2024 Prime Minister’s Cup, he scored the highest 386 runs playing for Madhesh Pradesh.
He did not even miss Dashain and Tihar to prepare for that tournament. He practiced while staying in India. That is why he played a century innings of 128 runs against Gandaki. Not only that, he scored 88 against Koshi, 69 against Sudurpaschim and 44 against Karnali. This is the best performance of his playing career. This shows the hard work he put in to make a comeback.
Debut for Nepal
After making a good impression in age group and franchise cricket, he was included in the team that played in the ICC Cricket League Division-Two. He made his debut for Nepal by playing against Kenya in 2018. After that, he went to Zimbabwe to play in the World Cup qualifiers. In the first ODI against the Netherlands, he scored 21 runs with three fours in 32 balls. Immediately after that, he contributed only four runs in the next match. His performance for the Nepali team was only mediocre.
He also played Twenty20 cricket for Nepal in 2018 against the Netherlands. After the tour of the Netherlands, he was left out of the Nepali team. After that, he really had to struggle a lot to get back into the team. After performing well for Madhesh in domestic cricket, he got the opportunity to play in two ODIs against Papua New Guinea. In that, he could only score 6 and 1 run. He could not continue in the Nepali team again. After playing well in the 2024 Prime Minister’s Cup, he came under the eye of coach Monty Desai.
He was included in the team for the three-match ODI series against Canada. Anil played an aggressive innings of 50 runs in the second match, facing 20 balls. He hit seven fours and three sixes. In the third match, he played a brilliant century innings of 112 runs. In that, he faced 124 balls, and hit 12 fours and 2 sixes. After that century, he continued in the Nepali team. After that, he was also included in the Twenty20 team, but did not get to play in the ACC Premier Cup.
