Nepal’s Next Cricket Assignment Confirmed
June 28, 2024Nepal’s Next Cricket Assignment Confirmed: ODI Focus Ahead After T20 World Cup Exit
‘Schedule Tour of CANADA & United States Of America’
Nepali team, which won hearts but not a single match in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, must now shift its entire focus to One Day International (ODI) cricket. After returning from the USA and West Indies in June 2024, the players of the Nepali team are currently on rest. However, for the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2, Nepal is expected to start its preparations from mid-July.
Among the ICC tournaments, Nepal’s next immediate competition will be the Cricket World Cup League 2. Under this competition, Nepal will travel to Canada in early September to play the second phase of League 2 matches. In their home ground, Canada will face Nepal and Oman. Canada currently tops the League 2 points table with 8 points, having won all four of its matches played in UAE in March 2024. Canada had defeated both Scotland and UAE—teams ranked higher than them—which has boosted their confidence. They also defeated Test nation Ireland in the T20 World Cup.
Nepal, on the other hand, had a disappointing performance in the home leg of League 2, losing three out of four matches. Nepal lost both matches against Namibia and had one win and one loss against the Netherlands. With just 2 points, Nepal currently sits in 5th position on the points table.
Oman is yet to play its first-round matches of the competition.
After playing the four-match series in Canada, Nepal will then travel directly to the United States to play the third round of League 2 matches. In the USA, Nepal is scheduled to play two matches each against Scotland and the United States.
In total, Nepal will play 8 matches under Cricket World Cup League 2 in the year 2024. Each of the 8 participating teams will play 12 matches every year. The League will run for three years and conclude in 2026. The top four teams at the end of the League will progress to the first round of the 2027 Cricket World Cup, which will be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.
Nepal, which recently prepared extensively for the T20 format, must now begin preparations as early as possible to adapt players back into the ODI format. Meanwhile, there are also ongoing rumours about Nepal possibly touring Afghanistan. If Nepal does tour Afghanistan, the focus should be on playing more ODIs rather than T20s. It is essential to transition players—who have been playing T20 cricket for a long time—into the 50-over format. Since almost all T20 and ODI players are the same for Nepal, the inclusion of players like Bhim Sharki, Arif Sheikh, and Dev Khanal could be the only notable changes in the squad.
Photo: CAN
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