NTCA umpire Bibek Sedhai paving way for Nepalese cricket in Tas

Bibek Sedhai hails from village of Chitwan - the former home of notable Nepalese leg-spin bowler Sandeep Lamichhane.

"I was very fascinated by cricket when I was younger ... when I was 10 years old I used to play in my village where I was a captain on my junior field," Sedhai said.

"I also used to watch the international matches on the television - from that moment I thought this game was something I was really interested in."

But the smaller pool of cricketing opportunities in Nepal resulted in the 27-year-old making his way to Australia.

"I didn't have that much of a chance to become an umpire [in Nepal], but I did get some experience as a player," Sedhai said.

"I went to Sydney in 2016 and I spent three years there playing."

After moving to Launceston about two years ago, Sedhai saw his chance to take up his passion for umpiring.

"When I came here I saw an opportunity," he said.

"I was very keen to become an umpire here, I was interviewed because they were asking for umpires to be here."

Sedhai now finds himself as somewhat of a trailblazer, being the only Nepalese person in Tasmania umpiring in cricket.

"It's like a dream for me to be an umpire here ... the NTCA president [David Fry] told me I'm one of the only younger people and the only Nepalese person here umpiring, not only in Launceston but all of Tasmania.," he said.

"That's not only good for me, but good for the association.

"That's very good for my family too ... I told my family that I'm an umpire here an they're very proud because I was very fascinated with it when I was a child, so they're happy for me."

At the same time, cricket finds itself an increasingly popular sport in Sedhai's home country, with Nepal now ranking 16^th in the ICC.

"Cricket is developing slowly - in the 2000s when I was there cricket was not the biggest game there, soccer was," he said. "But now, all of a sudden all the young people are playing cricket."

After umpiring 28 NTCA matches last season, including the women's T20 and over 40s grand finals, Sedhai is back doing his passion this season.

He hopes to continue to grow the profile of cricket among the local Nepalese community, as well as foster his own career as an umpire.

"Maybe in the next five years I'm hoping to be an umpire in the premier league in Hobart - that's my target," Sedhai said.

"I can absolutely do it because with the experience I'm getting at the moment I'm doing pretty well."