Kushal Bhurtel

Kushal Bhurtel
Kushal Bhurtel in 2022 at Kirtipur
Personal information
Born (1997-01-22) 22 January 1997
Butwal, Rupandehi, Nepal
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm leg break
RoleOpening batter
International information
National side
ODI debut (cap 25)7 September 2021 v Papua New Guinea
Last ODI5 November 2025 v United States
ODI shirt no.14
T20I debut (cap 33)17 April 2021 v Netherlands
Last T20I8 February 2026 v England
T20I shirt no.14
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2016Panchakanya Tej
2017—presentNepal Police Club
2018—2021Lalitpur Patriots
2022—23Lumbini All Stars
2024—presentPokhara Avengers
Career statistics
Competition ODI T20I List A T20
Matches 65 70 74 79
Runs scored 1454 1807 1668 1981
Batting average 23.07 29.14 23.49 28.71
100s/50s 1/9 1/13 1/11 1/13
Top score 115 104* 115 104*
Balls bowled 558 356 618 476
Wickets 17 30 23 37
Bowling average 27.58 12.90 22.13 22.13
5 wickets in innings 0 0 1 1
10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0
Best bowling 4/20 4/12 6/40 4/12
Catches/stumpings 44/– 39/– 48/– 41/–
Medal record
Representing  Nepal
Men's Cricket
South Asian Games
2019 Kathmandu/Pokhara Team
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 19 January 2026

Kushal Bhurtel (Nepali: कुशल भुर्तेल, born 22 January 1997) is a Nepalese cricketer.[1] He has played international cricket for Nepal since 2021 in both One Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals. He began his international career as an opening batter, but in recent years has also become an important spin bowler in Nepal's team.

Bhurtel represented Nepal in the 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, but then spent several years on the periphery of Nepal's senior team. He made his debut for Nepal in the 2020–21 Nepal Tri-Nation Series. During this series, he scored half-centuries in his first three matches, the first player in Twenty20 International history to do so. He was in Nepal's team for the 2024 Men's T20 World Cup and has been named again in their squad for the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup.

Early life and cricket career

As a child, Bhurtel wanted to become a goalkeeper in football, but he turned to cricket because of his father's wishes. He began playing cricket as an all-rounder, and represented Nepal in the 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.[2] As a batter, he was used as a power hitter in the lower order.[3] He was unsuccessful as a fast bowler, not taking a single wicket during the tournament, and subsequently focused more on his batting.[2]

The following year, Bhurtel played for Nepal's national team in a match against the United States, but the match was not awarded List A status.[4] He ended up making his List A debut in the 2019 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup, playing for Nepal's Emerging Team against India's Emerging Team on 14 November.[4][5] He was also part of Nepal's squad for the men's cricket tournament at the 2019 South Asian Games. The Nepalese team won the bronze medal, beating the Maldives by five wickets in the third-place playoff match.

National team success

Bhurtel spent a long time on the periphery of national selection for Nepal, while younger players were selected ahead of him, but he attracted the attention of Nepal's coach Dav Whatmore when he began playing in domestic cricket as an opening batter. Whatmore selected him in Nepal's squad for the 2020–21 Nepal Tri-Nation Series against the Netherlands and Malaysia. When Nepal's established opening batter Paras Khadka pulled out of the series with an injury, Bhurtel was given his first opportunity.[2][3] He made his Twenty20 International debut against the Netherlands on 17 April 2021, and top-scored for Nepal with 62 runs.[6][7] Bhurtel scored three consecutive half-centuries in his first three matches, becoming the first player in Twenty20 International history to do so.[4][8] He was named the player of the series, finishing with four half-centuries from his five matches and scoring a total of 278 runs at a batting average of 69.50.[9] His performances in the series secured his place as an opening batter in the national team,[2] and in May 2021, he was nominated for the ICC's Men's Player of the Month award.[4]

In August 2021, Bhurtel was named in Nepal's One Day International squad for their series against Papua New Guinea in Oman, and their squad for round six of the 2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 tournament, also in Oman.[10] He made his ODI debut on 7 September 2021, for Nepal against Papua New Guinea.[11]

In February 2022, he was named in Nepal's T20I squad for the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Global Qualifier A tournament in Oman.[12] In Nepal's second match of the tournament, against the Philippines, Bhurtel scored his first century in a T20I match.[13]

In January 2026, Bhurtel was selected in Nepal's squad for 2026 T20I World Cup.[14]

Shift to spin bowling

After failures with fast bowling early in his career, Bhurtel had become an occasional leg break bowler in domestic cricket in Nepal. In 2022, Manoj Prabhakar (then the coach of Nepal's national team) was impressed enough with his bowling to have him bowl in an ODI series against the United Arab Emirates and again in a tri-series in Namibia, but after poor team performances Prabhakar was dismissed as coach and Bhurtel was dropped from the team.[2]

Bhurtel returned to the national team under new coach Monty Desai as both an opening batter and a spin bowler, and in these roles he was part of Nepal's squad for the 2024 Men's T20 World Cup. During the World Cup he performed well, and in the following months he took as many wickets for Nepal as their established leg spinner Sandeep Lamichhane, making him as useful replacement for when Lamichhane was injured.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Kushal Bhurtel". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Subedi, Deep (10 October 2025). "Can Kushal become a replacement for Sandeep?". Nepal News. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
  3. ^ a b Nepal, Govinda Raj (28 April 2021). "Kushal Bhurtel: Nepal cricket's humble underdog stole the limelight quite late. What next?". onlinekhabar. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d "Who is Kushal Bhurtel, the Nepalese sensation up for ICC POTM?". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Nepal ET vs IND Emerg, Group A at Savar, ACC Emerging, Nov 14 2019 - Full Scorecard". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
  6. ^ "1st Match, Kirtipur, Apr 17 2021, Nepal Tri-Nation T20I Series". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Nepal defeat Netherlands by nine wickets in the Tri-Nations T20 Series opener". Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  8. ^ Online, T. H. T. (20 April 2021). "Kushal Bhurtel sets record with three consecutive T20I 50s". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  9. ^ "Nepal demolish the Netherlands to claim historic Tri-Nations triumph". Emerging Cricket. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Nepal announces squad for the CWCL2 series". Emerging Cricket. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  11. ^ "1st ODI, Al Amerat, Sep 7 2021, Nepal v Papua New Guinea ODI Series". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Nepal name final squad for T20 Global Qualifiers". The Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  13. ^ "Kushal Bhurtel century pushes Nepal closer to T20 World Cup Qualifier semi-finals". The National. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  14. ^ "Talent aplenty in Nepal's squad for Men's T20 World Cup 2026". 6 January 2026. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
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