Shakti Gauchan represented Nepal at Under-17 level in February 2001 when he played in the ACC Under-17 Asia Cup in Bangladesh. He played in the 2002 ICC Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand the following year, also making his debut for the senior side in the 2002 ACC Trophy in Singapore.

He spent the next two years in the Under-19 side, playing on a tour of India and the Youth Asia Cup in Pakistan in 2003 and the 2004 ICC Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh. He returned to the senior side in March 2004 when he made his first-class debut in the 2004 ICC Intercontinental Cup against the UAE, also playing against Malaysia in the same tournament.

A strong candidate for the Indian U-16 National team at one point, the lanky left arm spinner was seemingly destined to shoulder Nepali cricket and raise it to a higher level given his contributions have been invaluable to the earlier as well as recent successes of the national team. Gauchan was very impressive from the get-go and in his very first tournament for Nepal, the 2002 ACC Trophy, Gauchan bowled at an exceptional economic rate of 2.28 runs per over and bagged seven wickets. The right handed all-rounder shone with the bat as well amassing 248 runs in total at an average of 41.33 including two half centuries.

He also played in the ACC Trophy and in ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament matches against Singapore, the UAE and Hong Kong in 2004. In 2005, he played in the Repêchage Tournament of the 2005 ICC Trophy, in which Nepal finished third after beating Qatar in a play-off.

In 2006, he played in a play-off match against Namibia to decide the final spot in the 2006 ICC Intercontinental Cup. Needing an outright win to qualify, Nepal could only secure a draw after there was no play on the first day. Later in the year, he played on a tour of Pakistan with Nepal in addition to playing in the ACC Trophy and ACC Premier League. He also represented his country at the 2007 ACC Twenty20 Cup.

After being left out of the squad for the 2010 Asian Games as well as the 2011 ACC Twenty20 Cup, Gauchan was considered a misfit for the youngest version of the game among the supporters and lovers of Nepal cricket. However, being the player that he is, Gauchan never gave up and fought for and secured a place in the Twenty20 squad for the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. Gauchan justified his selection, silenced all his critics and rose to limelight once again after taking a total of 16 wickets, becoming the second leading wicket-taker in the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in UAE, which included a hat-trick against Denmark. He was one of the two Nepalese players besides skipper Paras Khadka to be chosen in the best XI of the tournament by ESPNcricinfo. After the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, Shakti was called by popular IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals. He impressed in the training; he bowled Indian cricket maestro