Kushal Malla made his debut for Nepal in the year 2020. At his debut game, he set the record for youngest player to score an ODI half century. With dipping form of Binod Bhandari and old Sharad Veswakar, Nepal was looking for hard hitter and with stage all set, Kushal Malla came and deliver. Not just his batting, Malla was very economical with his bowling as well. Another special thing about Malla was that he was trained by the national legend, Shakti Gauchan.
Soon after his debut, Kushal Malla won the hearts of Nepali fans and the management. He started to become regular for the team and played some crucial knock for Nepal. Like mentioned earlier, Malla's impact wasn't limited to bat but with the bowl as well he was very crucial for Nepal. On recently concluded T-20 WC Qualifers against UAE, Malla bowled a very economical last over. Against Mangolia at Asian Games, he even scored his first T-20 century, making him the player with the quickest century in T-20I back then.
Everything till 2023 was going well for Malla but that's when everything started going downhill for him. A very normal performance at home series against Nambia and Netherlands (both ODI & T-20I). Another poor performance at Asia Cup Qualifiers. And if you guys think that was the worse, T-20I World Cup was even big nightmare for him. Additionally, fielding performance were worst. He looked slow and lazy while fielding. Nepali fans were vocal about him, many started questioning his selection. Once a regular starter was dropped from the playing XI.
Upcoming NPL, will be challenging to Kushal Malla. With lot of other superstars ready to demonstrate their potential, Kushal Malla who is in danger zone must step up for his team, with the bat and with the bowl. The plus point of Malla is that TU's condition totally suits him. It will be fun to watch whether or not he will be able to capitalize opportunity at NPL and cement his spot at Nepali Cricket Team. And no doubt, the success of Chitwan Rhinos will largely depend on his performance in this NPL.