KARACHI: The reinstatement of the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has taken another step forward, with the first in-person meeting of the five-member Independent Panel. According to the official press release issued by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the panel is tasked with overseeing the election process under the terms of the revised constitution which was unanimously adopted by CAN in April 2018. Facilitated by ICC Deputy Chairman, Imran Khwaja, the meeting of the Independent Panel comprised of three representatives nominated by the ICC, Muhammad Ali, Head of Internal Audit; Ammar Shaikh, Senior Manager – Strategic Projects and Niteesha Kothari, Finance and Operations Officer – Asia. They were joined by Lekh Bahadur Chhetri nominated by the National Sports Council and Thakur Pratap Thapa nominated by the existing CAN Central Working Committee. The meeting mapped out the process, guidelines and timelines for the district, provincial and central elections to be held under the terms of the revised constitution, while also urging all parties to ensure that all outstanding litigation in Nepal is withdrawn. On this occasion Khwaja said: “This is a positive step forward for cricket in Nepal, the meetings this week have progressed well, and the ICC remains confident that this will lay a solid foundation for the long-term good governance of the sport in Nepal.” Khwaja also commended Nepal on their first One Day International (ODI) victory, which took place at the beginning of the month against the Netherlands. “Congratulations to Nepal for their first ODI victory, this is another example of the journey that Nepal are taking, and reinforces why it is so important to keep progressing off-field, as well as on it,” he said. Published in Daily Times, August 20th 2018.