Who is Kushal Bhurtel? 5 interesting things about Nepal opener who scored 38 off 25 vs India in Asia Cup 2023

Kushal Bhurtel stunned the Indian bowlers by scoring 38 runs off just 25 balls for Nepal in the Asia Cup 2023 on Monday (September 4). Playing his first-ever innings against India, Bhurtel took advantage of an early dropped catch and smashed three fours and two sixes.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss in the Asia Cup 2023 match against Nepal and elected to field first at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. Kushal Bhurtel came out to open the batting for Nepal along with Aasif Sheikh. The Nepal batters were lucky as India dropped three catches in the first five overs.

Two of those three catches were of Bhurtel. Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan dropped his catches off Mohammed Shami's bowling in the first and fifth overs, respectively. Bhurtel raced to 38 runs off 24 balls, hitting a six each against Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur.

Soon after he hit his second six, Bhurtel edged a delivery from Thakur straight into the hands of wicketkeeper Kishan. He fell 12 runs short of his half-ton, but he turned heads with his batting performance.

Here's a list of five things you should know about Bhurtel.

---

#1 Kushal Bhurtel made his List-A debut against India Emerging Team in 2019

Bhurtel has had a connection with the Indian cricket teams since his early days as a cricketer. Even before he represented the Nepal team at the senior international level, he made his List-A debut for Nepal Emerging against India Emerging on November 14, 2019.

He opened the batting in that match as well but scored only 28 runs off 60 balls. Parth Rekhade dismissed him bowled out. Bhurtel has improved a lot since that game.

---

#2 Kushal Bhurtel scored 71 and took 6-wicket haul in same match just before Asia Cup 2023

Bhurtel turned up for Nepal in the ACC Men's Emerging Teams Asia Cup tournament in Sri Lanka just before the Asia Cup. Playing against UAE 'A' in Colombo, Bhurtel first bowled a dream spell of 6/40. UAE 'A' were bowled out for 157 runs.

Chasing 158 for a win, Nepal suffered a collapse, but Bhurtel smacked a magnificent 43-ball 71 to ensure that his team won the match by three wickets. His knock consisted of nine fours and four sixes.

---

#3 Harshit Rana dismissed Bhurtel for a duck

India 'A' played against Nepal in the ACC Men's Emerging Teams Asia Cup as well. Bhurtel opened the batting for Nepal but got out for a two-ball duck. Indian pacer Harshit Rana trapped him LBW.

While Bhurtel would have managed a single-digit score in the Asia Cup 2023 against India as well, Shreyas Iyer dropped a regulation catch, allowing him to score more runs.

---

#4 Kushal Bhurtel studied at Phoenix College of Management

Cricket is not a big sport yet in Nepal. Hence, the Nepalese cricketers also have to maintain a strong educational background and work another job to make a living. Bhurtel is a management student.

In an Instagram post shared by him, he was felictated at the Phoenix College of Management for his achievements in cricket. Bhurtel wrote in the caption that he studied at the same college.

---

#5 Kushal Bhurtel loves climbing mountains

Bhurtel has visited the mountains near Nepal regularly. He has shared a lot of pictures from the mountains on his Instagram account. Earlier this year, he visited the Tilicho Lake that is at a height of 4,949m from the ground level.

Bhurtel has also shared photos with his mother and sister on Instagram. It looks like he is very close to his family.