Basanta Regmi () (born 6 April 1986) is a Nepalese professional cricketer. An

all-rounder An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are cons ...

, he bats left-handed and bowls

left-arm orthodox spin Left-arm orthodox spin or left-arm off spin, also known as slow left-arm orthodox spin bowling, is a type of spin bowling in cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven ...

. He made his debut for

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

against

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

in March 2006. He was one of the eleven cricketers to play in Nepal's first ever

One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...

(ODI) match, against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, in August 2018. He is the captain of the Kantipur Gurkhas of the Nepal Premier League. He also plays for the

APF Club Nepal A.P.F. Club (), commonly known as APF Club, is a professional multi-sports club based in Kathmandu, Bagmati Province, Nepal. The club is the sports wing of the Armed Police Force. History The APF Club was established on 24 October 20 ...

in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

Change of bowling action

Regmi entered the Nepalese cricketing arena as a left-arm fast bowler with a reputation for swinging the ball both ways. However, he suffered a motorbike accident, which significantly affected his career. The accident left Regmi with a broken finger and caused him to change his bowling action, shifting from fast bowling to finger spin.

Early life and career

Born in Bhairahawa in 1986, Regmi first represented Nepal at Under-17 level, playing in the ICC Under-17 Asia Cup in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

in July 2000. In his second match he won the

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

award for taking 3 important wickets against Bahrain. He also represented Nepal in the ACC Under-17 Asia Cup the following year in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. In 2002, he played his first Under-19 World Cup, the 2002 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

but could not do much there as he did not get enough games to play.Under-19 ODIs played by Basanta Regmi
at CricketArchive Nepal finished the tournament as runners-up in the plate competition, but Regmi only played one match, against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Making his Under-19 youth ODI debut in the match, he didn't bat or bowl during the 48 run win. The following year he played for Nepal Under-19s in one match against their Indian counterparts in Kirtipur, where he

bowled In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, it is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batter. Second, it is a method of dismissing a batter, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. ...

future Indian player Suresh Raina. He played in his second Under-19 World Cup, the 2004 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in

. He also played three matches during the ACC Under-19 Cup the following year. Selectors did not lose their faith in him and he again featured for Nepal in the

2006 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup The 2006 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup was played in Sri Lanka from 2 to 15 February 2006. It was the sixth edition of the Under-19 Cricket World Cup. The final was played between Pakistan and India in Colombo, which Pakistan won by 38 runs ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. He took 12 wickets and made 141 runs with the bat. His 3 wickets helped win the plate-semifinal against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

by 2 runs. In the plate final against

he scored 66 runs and took 3 wickets and won

Man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

award.

International career

Later in 2006, he made his debut for the senior Nepali side, playing in an

ICC Intercontinental Cup The ICC Intercontinental Cup was a first-class cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as part of its cricket development programme. It was designed to allow List of International Cricket Council members, Associ ...

play-off match against

. This was followed by three matches against the Pakistan Cricket Academy in

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

, the

2006 ACC Trophy The 2006 ACC Trophy was a cricket tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, taking place between 14 August and 26 August 2006. It gave associate and affiliate members of the Asian Cricket Council experience in international one-day cricket. This wa ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

and four matches in the ACC Premier League against

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and

Malaysia national cricket team The Malaysia national cricket team represents the country of Malaysia in international cricket matches. The team is organised by the Malaysian Cricket Association which has been an List of International Cricket Council members, associate memb ...

. He played four matches for

in 2007, all in the 2007 ACC Twenty20 Cup in

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

. In 2008, he was selected for the

squad for Division Five of the World Cricket League in

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

. He played in all matches during the tournament. Later in the year, he played in the 2008 ACC Trophy Elite in Malaysia. In 2009, he played in a three-day match against the

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

, taking 3/20 and 3/27 to help lead his team to an innings win over an MCC side captained by former

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...

er Min Patel. He also played in the ACC Twenty20 Cup the same year. Half-century and 2 wickets against

in the 2010 Division Five, innings of 17 * runs & 2 important wickets in the same match against

in 2011 ACC Twenty20 Cup, 5 wickets against the USA in the final of 2012 Division Four, man of the series performance by taking 21 wickets in the 2012 Division Four (highest wicket taker of the tournament), 10 wickets in 2012 ACC Trophy Elite, 10 wickets in 2013 ACC Twenty20 Cup, and 14 wickets in 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. In the 2014 World Cup Qualifier in

he scored 118 runs and picked up 9 wickets. He took wickets in all the three matches that Nepal played in the

2014 ICC World Twenty20 The 2014 ICC World Twenty20 was the fifth edition of the Men's T20 World Cup, formerly known as the ICC World Twenty20, an international Twenty20 cricket tournament, that took place in Bangladesh from 16 March to 6 April 2014. It was played in t ...

. He took 5 wickets during the 2014 Asian Games at an average of 5.80 and an economy rate of 3.16. He was also the best bowler in the 2014 ICC World Cricket League Division Three. He took 14 wickets in the tournament. He is also the leading wicket taker in World Cricket League matches with 103 wickets in 51 matches at an average of 11.65 and economy rate of 3.00. He is also the first bowler to take 100 wickets in this format, achieving this feat after taking 2 wickets in a match against

in the 2015 ICC World Cricket League Division Two in

. He took a total of 7 wickets from 5 matches in the tournament. He took 8 wickets in the 2015 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier at an average of 13.75 and an economy rate of 6.40, including a four-wicket haul against Hong Kong, which is the best bowling figures of a Nepalese bowler in the T20I format. In the final group stage match against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, he took bowling figures of 3/34 to restrict the opponent to 195 runs. The match ended in a last ball victory for Nepal and was qualified to enter 2018 ICC World Cup Qualifier. In July 2018, he was named in Nepal's squad for their

(ODI) series against the Netherlands. These were Nepal's first ODI matches since gaining ODI status during the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier. He made his ODI debut for Nepal against the

on 1 August 2018. In August 2018, he was named in Nepal's squad for the 2018 Asia Cup Qualifier tournament. In October 2018, he was named in Nepal's squad in the Eastern sub-region group for the 2018–19 ICC World Twenty20 Asia Qualifier tournament. In June 2019, he was named in Nepal's squad for the Regional Finals of the 2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier tournament. In September 2020, he was one of eighteen cricketers to be awarded with a central contract by the

Cricket Association of Nepal Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) is the official Sport governing body, governing body of cricket in Nepal national cricket team, Nepal. Its headquarters are situated in Mulpani, Kathmandu, Mulpani, Kathmandu District, Kathmandu. It is Nepal' ...

. In June 2021, he was selected to take part in the

Minor League Cricket Minor League Cricket (MiLC) is a professional Twenty20, Twenty20 cricket league in the United States that serves as the Minor league, developmental league for Major League Cricket (MLC). The league comprises 26 teams, divided between the Atlanti ...

tournament in the United States following the players' draft.

Playing style

Regmi had to change his bowling style due to his broken finger, switching from left-arm fast to

slow left-arm orthodox Left-arm orthodox spin or left-arm off spin, also known as slow left-arm orthodox spin bowling, is a type of spin bowling in cricket. Bowlers using this technique bowl with their left-arm and a finger spin action. Their normal delivery spins ...

. However, he managed to adapt to the situation and since became an effective wicket-taking option for

. He was inspired by

Daniel Vettori Daniel Luca Vettori (born 27 January 1979) is a New Zealand cricket coach and former cricketer who played for the New Zealand national cricket team. He was the 200th player to win their Test cricket cap for New Zealand and an inductee in the Ne ...

and Ashley Giles, and tried to imitate them, watching several highlights to try and learn how to get a batsman out as a spinner. His ability to take the team out of a crisis by taking crucial wickets and checking the flow of runs led to him being nicknamed "Crisis Man" by fans and teammates. He is also known for his ability as a useful partnership breaker. However, he is sometimes criticized for being poor in flat pitches. He is also a useful lower order

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball, ball with a cricket bat, bat to score runs (cricket), runs and prevent the dismissal (cricket), loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since Septembe ...

, capable of hitting big shots.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Regmi, Basanta 1986 births Living people Nepalese cricketers People from Rupandehi District Nepal One Day International cricketers Nepal Twenty20 International cricketers 21st-century Nepalese sportsmen Cricketers at the 2010 Asian Games Cricketers at the 2014 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for Nepal Khas people