Nepal's Schedule for 2026 T20 Worldcup

Nepal, a rising cricketing nation, is set to play their third World Cup this year in February in India. In the previous edition (2024), Nepal made a promising impact, where they lost to South Africa by just one run. In 2014, Nepal debuted in a World Cup, where they won two matches out of three but, due to a lower NRR, failed to progress to the next group.

Now, this year’s World Cup will be a brilliant opportunity for Nepal to announce themselves even better. Nepal will play all their group-stage matches in Wankhede, India, under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, and the matches to be played are scheduled as follows: 

📅 8 Feb 2026, Sunday — Nepal vs England
⏱ Time: Afternoon (at 3: 15 PM Nepali time)
📍 Venue: Mumbai, India

📅 12 Feb 2026, Thursday — Nepal vs Italy
⏱ Time: Afternoon (at 3: 15 PM Nepali time)
📍 Venue: Mumbai, India

📅 15 Feb 2026 , Sunday— Nepal vs West Indies
⏱ Time: Morning (at 11:15 AM Nepali time)
📍 Venue: Mumbai, India

📅 17 Feb 2026 , Tuesday — Nepal vs Bangladesh
⏱ Time: Evening (at 7:15 PM Nepali time)
📍 Venue: Mumbai, India 

       Squad

1. Rohit Paudel (Captain)

2. Dipendra Singh Airee (Vice-Captain)

3. Sandeep Lamichhane

4. Kushal Bhurtel

5. Aasif Sheikh (Wicketkeeper)

6. Sundeep Jora

7. Aarif Sheikh

8. Basir Ahamad

9. Sompal Kami

10. Karan KC

11. Nandan Yadav

12. Gulshan Jha

13. Lalit Rajbanshi

14. Sher Malla

15. Lokesh Bam 

Top 5 Most Popular Sports in the World

Sports is an activity that helps to join community, city, nation, and the entire world. There is a long history of games and sports. Billions of people follow their favourite sports, and here are some lists of sports which are widely followed by fans.

1. Football (Soccer)⚽ 

Undoubtedly, football is the most popular sport with over 4 billion fans worldwide. It is popular because it is simple, cheap, and does not require expensive kits to play.

2. Cricket🏏

Cricket is also a rising sport in the world right now. It has over 2.5 billion fans and is mostly popular in Asia, the UK, Australia, and some African regions.

3. Basketball 🏀

It has over ~2.2 billion fans worldwide and is very popular in the USA, China, and Europe.

4. Hockey (Field Hockey) 🏑

More than 2 billion fans follow this sport, and its following is strong in Asia, Europe, and Australia.

5. Tennis 🎾

Tennis is a very reputed and well-known sport with over 1 billion fans. This is globally popular despite being an individual sport.

Nepal's Cricketing Achievement from 1996 to 2026

Top 5 Major Achievements That Changed Nepali Cricket Forever

Nepali cricket run by the Cricket Association of Nepal is surely in one of its high times. On the verge of the 2026 T20 World Cup, let’s talk about the top 5 major achievements in Nepali cricket that completely changed the view of cricket in Nepal.

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1. First ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualification

Nepal got official membership from the ICC in 1996 and, in the process of developing from Division Five, the first major milestone was qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Bangladesh. The team played three matches and won two, but due to NRR got out early from the group stages. So, that qualification created self-belief among fans, players, and the whole nation and changed the perspective of cricket differently.

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2. Achieving One Day International Status (2018)

In 2018, Nepal earned ODI status by performing well in the World Cup Qualifier. Although the Nepal team failed to qualify for the One Day World Cup, that achievement of ODI status shaped cricket in a different direction.

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3. First Appearance in Asia Cup 2023

As a small developing cricketing nation, playing against cricketing giants India and Pakistan in the first-ever Asia Cup is truly remarkable. Nepal lost both matches but succeeded in grabbing attention and announcing itself at a bigger level.

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4. Historic Series Win Against West Indies

In September 2025, Nepal finally broke the shackle and beat a full member nation for the first time against West Indies in Sharjah. In the bilateral series, Nepal managed to win the starting two matches and clinched the three-match series 2–1.

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5. Back-to-Back World Cup Qualification 2024 and 2026

Nepal waited for 10 long years for its World Cup participation after 2014, but in 2026 Nepal won the Asia region qualifier and qualified for their back-to-back World Cup and third overall in history.