DHANGADHI, Aug 18: On June 13, 2026, Prime Minister Balendra Shah posted a video on Facebook showing young people playing cricket against the snow-covered foothills of Api Himal at its base camp. The video quickly went viral, prompting calls for an international-standard cricket stadium at the picturesque location.
The video also drew attention to a larger reality in Sudurpaschim: the province has produced a remarkable number of talented athletes, but continues to struggle with inadequate sports infrastructure and limited government investment.
Nearly half of Nepal’s national cricket team comprises players from Sudurpaschim. The province has also produced athletes who have represented Nepal on the international stage in various sports, including renowned taekwondo player Deepak Bista.
“Sudurpaschim has produced talented players. National and international players are from here,” says Rajiv Gupta, sub-treasurer of the Nepal Wushu Federation and chairman of the Kailali District Association. “But government investment in players and sports infrastructure here is almost zero.”
According to Gupta, investment in sports infrastructure, equipment and training remains minimal. He also alleges that funds allocated for sports infrastructure are diverted or misused, while the limited number of coaches are forced to train players with inadequate equipment and facilities.
Bikram Bist, a board member of the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) and president of its Kailali chapter, says the province’s lack of sports infrastructure is a result of insufficient state investment.
“Sudurpaschim does not have a single proper cricket stadium,” he says. “Players are still forced to practice on open fields and riverbanks.”
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The province continues to produce players for Nepal’s national cricket teams. Men’s national team players including Binod Bhandari, Dipendra Singh Airee, Sher Malla and Lokesh Bam are from Sudurpaschim. The province has also contributed several players to the women’s national team, including Bindu Rawal, Sudha Dhami, Kabita Joshi, Kabita Kunwar, Ishwari Bista and Suman Bista, according to Bist.
“Local, provincial and federal governments have not invested satisfactorily in Sudurpaschim, despite the province’s ability to produce highly talented players,” he says.
Fapla stadium remains unfinished
The long-promised Fapla International Cricket Stadium in Dhangadhi Sub-Metropolitan City-3 has remained in the headlines for years, but construction is yet to be completed.
Subash Shahi, chairman of the Fapla International Cricket Stadium and Sports Village Infrastructure Construction and Development Committee and a former cricketer, says construction has been delayed mainly because of complications related to land acquisition.
“Seven to eight years have passed, but the construction has still not moved forward as expected,” he says.
Other sports infrastructure across Sudurpaschim is also in poor condition. Construction of the Dhangadhi Stadium, which began during the Sixth National Games, remains incomplete. Even in 2026, less than half of the work has been completed.
Only six of the planned nine parapet blocks have been constructed, while plastering and painting work on the completed structures remains unfinished. The indoor sports hall being constructed on the stadium premises has also yet to be completed.
The Sports Academy in Tikapur, Kailali, which was established with the goal of producing skilled athletes by providing residential training facilities, has also not yet come into operation.
Lok Bahadur Khadka, member-secretary of the Sudurpaschim Sports Council, says the province has fertile ground for producing talented athletes but lacks the resources needed to nurture them.
He says the limited budget for sports discourages players and makes it difficult to organize sporting activities and build the necessary infrastructure. Compared with other provinces, he says, Sudurpaschim’s sports budget is extremely small.
“We cannot even bring players from all nine districts of the province to Dhangadhi for competitions,” Khadka says. He complains that although the provincial government repeatedly assures that it will develop the sports sector, it fails to allocate sufficient funds.
“Even after a decade and a half, the Dhangadhi stadium has not been completed,” he says. “The condition of sports infrastructure in the hill districts is even worse.”
Budget misuse
Sports receives only a limited budget in the first place, and concerns have also been raised over how the allocated funds are spent.
Although projects for constructing playing fields are often reported as completed on paper, many districts still lack adequate playing grounds and related infrastructure.
Khadka says the Sudurpaschim Provincial Sports Council is not properly informed about funds allocated for playing grounds or how the construction projects are being implemented.
“Very little budget is allocated for playing grounds,” he says. “We are not informed where or how the money is being spent.”
He says the misuse of funds allocated for playing fields and sports infrastructure must be stopped.
Sources allege that funds allocated through the Social Development Office are sometimes misused through collusion between government employees and political party members, resulting in infrastructure projects that fail to deliver meaningful results.
