Gyanendra Malla Height, Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About Gyanendra Malla

• Gyanendra Malla grew up in Bhimsensthan, where he first played cricket with a homemade ball.

• Money was scarce in his family, so he learned to make his own ball with his friend. They used a newspaper, crushed it, soaked it in water, let it harden, wrapped it with cotton, and then added a layer of rubber.

• The bounce was not perfect, but for him, it was enough. This was his first connection with cricket. He played gully cricket in the narrow alleys and chowks of his birthplace.

• He played whenever he found a little space, whether it was day or night. A small street lamp was enough for the game to continue.

• He also tried every type of bowling. He bowled leg-spin, off-spin, and even fast-medium deliveries. When he was alone, he hit a ball curled inside a sock that he hung from the ceiling.

• His father often scolded him for this obsession, but he kept going. Slowly, Malla moved from chowk cricket to school cricket and then to Tundikhel. He followed the seniors from his locality.

• At that time, he had no idea about selections or national dreams. He only wanted to play cricket. Even when Paras Khadka and others went for U-15 selection, he still did not think of cricket as a professional career.

• Everything changed when he joined the Yangal Club. There, he learned that players like him could play domestic and even international cricket.

• He went through club selection, then district selection, and finally reached the national camp. At the district level, he played as a batting all-rounder because he bowled leg-spin occasionally.

• Later, in the senior team, he focused mainly on batting and kept wickets when the team needed it. His rise became clear when he joined the Under-15 team.

• In the U-19 World Cup in 2006 in Colombo, he scored an unbeaten 46 in the Plate semi-final against South Africa, led by Dean Elgar, and Nepal won by two runs.

• In 2005–2006, the players received only Rs 25 allowance in the camp. On international tours, ACC and ICC gave them 25 dollars per day. That amount had to cover almost everything.

• Whatever money remained, they brought home. They hardly played two or three matches a year, and there were no sponsors. CAN had only a few bats, and players shared them during matches.

• At Kirtipur, there was only a ground and a pitch. There were not even enough balls to train with. Lunch was a few pieces of meat, measured carefully.

• With family responsibilities growing and no improvement in earnings, he once applied for an Australian work visa. The visa was rejected, and his cricket journey continued.

• His family initially doubted cricket as a long-term career because the sport had limited growth in Nepal at that time. Over the years, as his career progressed, his family became supportive and proud of his achievements.

• Despite the difficulties, he delivered many memorable performances. He scored the fastest half-century for Nepal in One-Day matches in just 17 balls against Saudi Arabia in the 2012 ACC Trophy Elite. He also hit six boundaries in one over.

• He made his debut for Nepal against Namibia in March 2006. Malla was a right-handed batsman and an occasional wicket-keeper.

• In 2005, he played for Nepal’s U-15 team and later represented Nepal in ACC U-17 and U-19 tournaments. He was part of Nepal’s squad for the 2006 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup.

• He scored 145 runs in six innings during the tournament, including 46 not out in the Plate semi-final against South Africa U-19.

• After the World Cup, he was selected for Nepal’s senior team in the 2006 Intercontinental Cup. Malla became a key batsman for Nepal, known for building innings under pressure.

• In 2012, he hit six fours in one over and scored the fastest half-century for Nepal off 17 balls against Saudi Arabia in the ACC Trophy Elite.

• He scored 212 runs in that tournament, averaging 42, and helped Nepal win their first title. He scored several important innings for Nepal, including 86 against Canada in the 2014 World Cup Qualifier and 66 against the USA in the 2012 Division Four final.

• He also scored 76 not out against Qatar in the 2008 ACC Trophy Elite and 75 against the USA in the 2008 Division Five.

• Malla scored his maiden international century (114 off 125 balls) against Singapore in the 2014 ICC World Cricket League Division Three.

• He scored 241 runs in six innings during the tournament with an average of 48.20. In the 2015 ICC World Cricket League Division Two, he scored 236 runs in six innings at an average of 59.00.

• Between 2008 and 2015, he scored 1,262 runs in 45 innings in World Cricket League matches at an average of 36.06, including one hundred and seven fifties.

• In July 2018, Malla was named in Nepal’s squad for their first-ever ODI series against the Netherlands and made his ODI debut on 1 August 2018.

• In August 2018, he became vice-captain for the Asia Cup Qualifier. He also played in the 2018–19 ICC World Twenty20 Asia Qualifier.

• In June 2019, he was again named vice-captain for the Regional Finals of the ICC T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier.

• He dedicated his T20I century against Bhutan in December 2019 to his newly born daughter.

• He captained Nepal against Malaysia when Paras Khadka was injured and won the match by seven wickets, earning the player of the match award.

• Malla made his first-class debut on 6 November 2019 against the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). Later that month, he captained Nepal in the 2019 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup and the 2019 South Asian Games, where Nepal won the bronze medal.

• On 5 December 2019, he scored his first T20I century. In September 2020, he received a central contract from the Cricket Association of Nepal.

• In January 2021, he captained Bagmati Province in the Prime Minister Cup.

• In December 2021, the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) removed Malla and vice-captain Dipendra Singh Airee from their positions. CAN stated that both players, along with Sompal Kami and Kamal Singh Airee, violated the players’ code of conduct.

• The four cricketers were not given a central contract or salary for the first six months of 2022. CAN President Chatur Bahadur Chand said the action was based on recommendations from a probe committee formed to review the issue.

• Sandeep Lamichhane was appointed as the new captain of the national cricket team. The disciplinary action followed an incident where Malla and the others publicly expressed dissatisfaction with the grading and central contract system for national players.

• After their comments appeared in an online interview, CAN formed a six-member investigation committee led by acting secretary Prashant Bikram Malla. The committee found their clarifications unsatisfactory and recommended disciplinary measures.

• According to CAN, the players violated Article 3.3.1 of the players’ code of conduct, which prohibits public statements that may bring the board or cricket into disrepute.

• CAN stated that the players were given two opportunities to clarify their actions but failed to accept any wrongdoing.

• The board’s majority agreed to punish the four players following these discussions.

• Malla continued to play regularly for Nepal afterwards. In August 2022, during a T20I series against Kenya, he won two player of the match awards, scoring 46 and 59 runs in separate games, helping Nepal win the series 3–1.

• In December 2022, he scored 75 runs against Namibia in an ODI that was later called off due to rain.

• In January 2023, during the Nepal T20 League, Malla revealed that one of his teammates had been approached with a match-fixing proposal. His disclosure raised immediate suspicion about corruption within the league and prompted authorities to act.

• After his statement, the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) launched a formal inquiry into the matter, following an order from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

• As the issue gained attention, commentator Sachin Timalsena supported Malla’s claim by stating that he had noticed unusual and suspicious activities during several matches.

• Soon after, around seven to eight national players reported receiving similar fixing approaches and informed the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU).

• The ICC then sent a two-member team to Nepal to monitor the situation and help local authorities in the investigation.

• Following these developments, police arrested cricketers Mohammad Aadil Ansari and Mehboob Alam for alleged involvement in match-fixing and spot-fixing.

• The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) questioned the National Sports Council about allowing the event without proper permission.

• Authorities also raised concerns about foreign players participating without work permits and unpaid salary issues during the league.

• In February 2023, he scored 65 runs against Namibia in Nepal’s three-wicket win. In August 2023, Gyanendra Malla announced his retirement from international cricket.

• He later became the head coach of the Neal A team.

• In September 2024, he was appointed as the Head Coach and Cricket Director of Karnali Yaks, a franchise in the Nepal Premier League (NPL).

• He became the head coach of the national team in April 2025 for the four-nation T20I Series in Hong Kong, stepping in for head coach Stuart Law, who was appointed on March 28 but had not yet arrived in Nepal to take charge.

• Malla first met his wife, Sangita, in 2005 when he began his cricket career. She used to work as a DAV teacher.

• He first noticed her during a break when he saw her in a shop wearing spectacles and a striped sweater. Sangita initially assumed he was Indian, but got to know him properly later.

• He found it difficult to talk to girls, but he asked for her email, and their communication started online. Sangita did not understand cricket in the beginning, but gradually learned the game by watching him play.

• Their household follows a healthy lifestyle, although Gyanendra does not follow a strict diet plan except for avoiding sugar.

• Sangita said in an interview that Gyanendra has become more social over the years, although he remains reserved in public settings. She believes he would have joined the army if he had not become a cricketer.

• He has also served as captain of Lalitpur Patriots in the Everest Premier League (EPL).

• In an interview, he advised young cricketers to have constant dedication, discipline and passion as the journey of being a sports player is long and tough.

• He likes reading books that offer motivational stories or strong recommendations. He has read biographies of Hari Bansha Acharya and Sachin Tendulkar and enjoys works by Chetan Bhagat and Subin Bhattarai.

• He collects boarding passes from his cricket travels around the world and has a collection of more than 500 boarding passes.