In a competitive world, the camaraderie shown by sportspersons on the field has always kept us going. In one such fine example, a Nepalese cricketer is being praised online for upholding the “spirit of cricket” during a T20 match with Ireland.
During the Oman Quadrangular T20 Series at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Muscat, Nepal wicketkeeper Md Aasif Sheikh had a chance to dismiss Ireland’s Andy McBrine. During the 19th over, batsman Mark Adair tried to hit a delivery by Kamal Singh Airee hard, but failed. Adair and McBrine decided to take a quick single and as pacer Airee quickly tried to catch the ball and attempted a run-out, he accidentally collided with McBrine.
Even though the pacer threw the ball in time to Sheikh, the wicketkeeper chose not to whip off the bails, allowing McBrine to get to the crease safely.
Hopefully this moment will win ” @ICC Spirit of the Year ”award for @CricketNep. @CricketBadge was spot on with his comments in the commentary box.
A moment to cherish for @ Sandeep25 . Well done #Cricket @cricketireland #OmanCricket @ICC @momocricket pic.twitter.com/FvqMTGnJO5
– Abhishek Shekhawat (@ abhi07cricket) February 14, 2022
“I’ve got goosebumps here in the commentary box because that’s a touching moment. It was accidental, and he could have run him out here, ”the commentator was heard saying as the moment happened.
“And Aasif Sheikh has said, ‘No’, he’s not going to do it because of the spirit of the game. That’s your nominee for the Spirit of Cricket Award for 2022 for the ICC, ”the commentator added.
Cricket commentator Andrew Leonard later took to Twitter to explain why the moment was special and worth highlighting. “Nepal may have lost the match but they no doubt won the cricket world’s hearts,” he tweeted. Lauding Nepalese skipper Sandeep Lamichhane, Leonard added that it was him who instructed Sheikh to not run out McBrine. “It was Lamichhane who went over to shake Andy’s hand immediately,” Leonard added.
2/9) Nepal may have lost the match but they no doubt won the cricket world’s hearts y’day.
One thing I couldn’t hear at the time was the new🇳🇵captain @ Sandeep25 also instruct Aasif Sheikh to not run out McBrine, & it was Lamichhane who went over to shake Andy’s hand immediately pic.twitter.com/Qz86FofBsi
– Andrew Leonard (@CricketBadge) February 15, 2022
The heartwarming moment garnered attention not only from the commentator but cricket fans around the world. Eventually, Nepal lost the match against Ireland by 16 runs but surely won hearts online because of Sheikh’s decision.
👏👏👏👏 https://t.co/96IFqYeDof
– Jimmy Neesham (@JimmyNeesh) February 15, 2022
What a sportsmanship🙏🙏 https://t.co/gqatC7GMKr
– Debasis Pradhan (@ Debasis19240863) February 16, 2022
Great spirit… .that’s why cricket is called gentleman’s game….
🤘 https://t.co/4BxHpGfCpW– Himanshu (@ Himanshu_m8) February 15, 2022
So happy to see young cricketers play the sport in the spirit of the game. Kudos to the wicket keeper.
– Uday Amirapu (@UdayAmirapu) February 16, 2022
Credit should go to the players involved and the coaches who educated them. Setting example for others to follow. True sportsmanship displayed from a so called associated nation.
– Anand Sathiyamurthy (@anandloginit) February 14, 2022
Great to see it hope One day Nepal will make its way to World Cup.
– mufaaz yousuf (@smufaaz) February 15, 2022
When was last time we seen such a gesture in cricket? I really don’t remember… well done 👍 Nepal wicket keeper
– Khan (@ Khanmohammed12) February 15, 2022
This is the spirit that has kept the game alive.
Yes, all of us play to win but not to win using unfair means.
Cricket and all the other games teach us humanity and humility.
Kudos to Asif Sheikh, the wicket keeper for upholding the cricketing values!
This is the game, I know.– Shahab Jafri (@ ShahabJafri55) February 15, 2022
more surprising is the fact that commentators actually expected that Asif wont run out him. they said it before the ball was even in his gloves 🤯
– Divyesh Sharma (@divyeshsharma) February 15, 2022
Such good commentary to go with. @ICC look to get voices like these for the premier events.
– Akbar Manjyani (@Akbarmanjyani) February 15, 2022
This is great lessons for cricket players of bigger Teams, learn from this small team. Really good spirits showed up
– SANTHOSH KUMAR DEEP (@ SANTHOS56661073) February 16, 2022
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