Profile

T20I debut : Hong Kong v Nepal at Chittagong, Mar 16, 2014

First-class debut : United Arab Emirates v Nepal at Sharjah, Mar 25-27, 2004

List A debut : Nepal v United Arab Emirates at Rangiora, Jan 13, 2014

Twenty20 debut : Hong Kong v Nepal at Dubai (CA2), Mar 13, 2012

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Born in Rupandehi, Nepal in 1984. Shakti Gauchan first represented his country 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 Cricket 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 Cricket 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.

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. The games against the UAE and Hong Kong also counted towards the 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup

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.

He was one of the two Nepalese players beside skipper Paras Khadka to be chosen in the best XI in the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in UAE by ESPNcricinfo. 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 internationals.

After the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, Shakti was called by popular IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals. He impressed in the training by taking the wicket of Indian cricket maestro Rahul Dravid. 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 2014 ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, which Nepal reached by finishing 3rd in the 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, 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.