15-Year-Old Nepali Teen Dipesh Sapkota Shines in England’s County Cricket

Fifteen-year-old Nepali cricketer Dipesh Sapkota is emerging as a promising talent within England’s county cricket system. At the age of fourteen, he achieved an outstanding personal score of 163 runs off 100 balls. Looking ahead, Dipesh aims to play for England’s Under-19 team as well as in the Nepal Premier League. (8 Ashar, London)

Currently a 10th-grade student at the private Trent College in Derbyshire, Dipesh is training under the Nottinghamshire Emerging Player Program (EPP) and actively participates at the academy level for Nottinghamshire County Cricket. Born in Nottinghamshire, he began playing cricket at age six and was selected for Nottinghamshire County Cricket’s Under-10 team at just eight years old. After his initial selection in 2019, he played five matches that year.

Dipesh has accumulated nearly 5,050 runs across various competitive levels. His best personal score of 163 runs off 100 balls came during a match between Leicestershire and Rutland Cricket Foundation and Nottinghamshire. In May of the same year, representing Cavaliers and Carrington Cricket Club in Nottingham’s Premier Division, Dipesh scored an unbeaten 143 runs, securing victory for his team.

Cricket runs in Dipesh’s family background as well. His father, Deepak Sapkota, is a former president of the Nottingham Nepali Society. Originally from Wami Toksar in Musikot Municipality, Gulmi district, Deepak moved to the UK on a safe visa in 2005. Currently operating four restaurants, he is also the founding coordinator of the Midland Nepali Cricket League and a former captain of the Nottingham Gorkha Cricket Club.

Dipesh credits his father’s inspiration and family environment for fostering his passion for cricket. Living in Nottingham with his mother Sita Sapkota and sister Deepika, he remains dedicated to both his studies and cricket. He currently trains twice a week at Nottingham’s Trent Bridge International Cricket Stadium as part of the Nottinghamshire Emerging Player Program (EPP).

Dipesh’s goals include playing for the Nottinghamshire County Club’s first team and advancing to England’s Under-19 squad. In the long term, he dreams of participating in the Nepal Premier League (NPL) and eventually the Indian Premier League (IPL). Frequently traveling to Nepal, Dipesh speaks the Nepali language fluently. Recently, he was also selected for the prestigious Banbury Festival in England, which opens up further opportunities in his cricketing career.