Construction at the Gautam Buddha International Cricket Stadium at Rampur, Chitwan by Dhurmus-Suntali Foundation hasn’t been stopped due to ongoing COVID-19 pandemic situation in the country. The project was signed between Bharatpur Metropolitan City and the Foundation on Jan 30th, 2020 and the work has been going on after it was halted in Mar 2020 due to pandemic fears.
Nepal currently has only one ground accredited by ICC for hosting First-Class and List-A (including ODIs) matches at the International level at the Tribhuvan University ground in Kirtipur. Absence of other accredited grounds prevents Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) to submit a strong bid to host multi-nation level tournaments (either ICC or ACC (Asian Cricket Council) in the country. Nepal’s premier domestic T20 tournament, Everest Premier League, is also organised at Tribhuvan University ground.
More than 100+ workers have been working on the ground since Jun 2020 and the stadium is expected to have a capacity of more than 30,000 seats for crowds to fill in and watch the action. The foundation is expecting to finish the work in the next 14-18 months time. Nepal are scheduled to host ICC CWC League 2 events in 2021 and 2022, and for now, it looks like TU ground will be the one to host them. However, when the new ground is up and ready for hosting matches, Cricket Association of Nepal can very well start organizing domestic tournaments/matches at the ground.
