Beginnings According to the 1877 book, History of Nepal edited by Daniel Wright: {{Blockquote Over time, cricket came to be considered a gentleman's sport, and involvement was limited mainly to the ruling
Rana family and other members of the Nepali elite. In 1946, the
Cricket Association of Nepal was formed to promote cricket amongst the aristocracy. After the introduction of democracy through the
Revolution of 1951, cricket began to spread to the rest of the population. In 1961, in an effort to promote cricket to the whole of Nepal, the Cricket Association of Nepal became part of the
National Sports Council. Nevertheless, the National games tended to be limited to
Kathmandu Valley until the 1980s.
ICC membership Improvements to communications and transport infrastructure in Nepal allowed the game to expand outside Kathmandu in the 1980s Currently, the country has one of the best fan followings among ICC Associate Members. It lost for three years its governing body, the
Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) which was suspended by the
International Cricket Council (ICC) due to unnecessary government interference in 2016, but it was reinstated in October 2019.
21st century 2000 – 2009 In 2000, Nepal's youth development policy began to pay off when the
Nepal national under-19 cricket team finished eighth in the
Under-19 World Cup. The senior team had their best performance to date later in the year when they reached the semi-finals of the
2000 ACC Trophy before losing to
Hong Kong at
Sharjah. They competed in the
ICC Trophy for the first time the following year. In the tournament in
Ontario, they beat
Germany and
Gibraltar, but a loss to eventual runners-up
Namibia prevented them from progressing past the first round. Nepal were runners-up to the
UAE in the
2002 ACC Trophy in
Singapore and they hosted the ACC Emerging Nations Tournament in 2003, winning easily against
Bhutan and the
Maldives. They won so comprehensively that they were not invited back to the tournament the next time it was played in 2005. Nepal played
first-class cricket for the first time in 2004, playing in the
ICC Intercontinental Cup against the
UAE and
Malaysia. They beat
Malaysia, but drew with the
UAE, failing to reach the semi-final stage. Nepal finished third in the
2004 ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament, which qualified them for the
2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup, and finished 5th in the
2004 ACC Trophy, which qualified them for the
repêchage tournament of the
2005 ICC Trophy. They finished third in this tournament after beating
Qatar in a play-off, meaning that they did not qualify for the
2005 ICC Trophy.
Shakti Gauchan scored a century against
Italy and stayed unbeaten on 106 off 103 balls in the tournament. They beat the
UAE and drew with
Hong Kong in the
2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup, but missed out on qualification for the semi-finals by half a point. They were runners-up to the
UAE in the
2005 ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament. In March 2006, Nepal played
Namibia in
Windhoek in a play-off match to decide the final team in the
2006 ICC Intercontinental Cup. Nepal needed to win outright to qualify for the main tournament, but the match was drawn after there was no play on the first day. Later in the year, they toured
Pakistan, playing against the Pakistan Cricket Academy before playing in the
2006 ACC Trophy in
Kuala Lumpur. In the
2006 ACC Trophy, Nepal bowled
Myanmar out for just 10 runs off 12.1 overs after winning the toss and sending Myanmar in; no batsman scored more than one, the innings included five ducks, with a top score of five extras (three leg byes and two wides).
Mehboob Alam and
Binod Das picked up seven and three wickets, respectively. In reply, Nepal hit three off the first ball, followed by three wides that went for five, and then hit another three from the second legitimate delivery to win by ten wickets. Some critics called it the greatest mismatch in the history of international cricket and the score of 10 is the lowest in any level of men's international cricket. They finished fourth in the tournament after losing to
Afghanistan in a play-off. They won the
ACC Premier League in 2006. They played in the
2007 ACC Twenty20 Cup in
Kuwait, where they finished fourth in their first round group. In May 2008, Nepal traveled to
Jersey to play in
2008 ICC World Cricket League Division Five of the
World Cricket League.
Mehboob Alam set the world record by taking all ten wickets in the match against
Mozambique. He got his name in the
Guinness World Records for this, becoming the first bowler to take all 10 wickets in an ICC international cricket match with limited overs. Nepal topped Group A after the group qualifying matches but lost to
Afghanistan in the semi-final and finished third overall after defeating the
USA in the playoff for third place. With only the top two from this tournament qualifying for
2008 ICC World Cricket League Division Four in
Tanzania later in the year, Nepal missed out on the chance to take their
2011 World Cup dream any further. Later, Nepal appeared in the
2008 ACC Trophy Elite and finished fourth after losing to the
UAE in the semi-final and to
Afghanistan in the playoff for third place. Nepal finished fifth in the
2009 ACC Twenty20 Cup after beating
Singapore by 9 wickets in the playoff for fifth place. In a group match against
Kuwait, Nepal needed 7 runs off the last ball to win.
Binod Bhandari, making his debut for the national team, hit a last-ball six to tie the match. Eventually Nepal won the match in
bowl-out.
2010 – 2014 Nepal won their first major tournament, beating
USA in the final of
2010 ICC World Cricket League Division Five held at
Kathmandu in February 2010.
Sharad Vesawkar scored a century and stayed unbeaten on 105 off 134 balls against
Fiji in the tournament. Nepal played very well in
2010 ACC Trophy Elite, winning all the matches in group stage and beating
Malaysia in the semi-final by 8 runs but lost the final against an
ODI team
Afghanistan by 95 runs and finished runners-up. Nepal came third in
2010 ICC World Cricket League Division Four, thus remaining in Division Four for
2012 ICC World Cricket League Division Four. In November, Nepal appeared in
2010 Asian Games and lost against
Sri Lanka in the quarter-final. It was the first match Nepal had played against a Full Member nation. In December 2011, Nepal hosted the
2011 ACC Twenty20 Cup and finished fourth, thereby qualifying for the
2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. Nepal faced Afghanistan in the 3 match T20I series and 5 match ODI series at the start of 2012 but Afghanistan defeated Nepal 3-0 in the T20I series and again defeated Nepal 5-0 in the ODI series. Nepal finished seventh in the
2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier after defeating
Kenya and
Papua New Guinea in play-offs.
Shakti Gauchan took the first international
hat-trick for Nepal against
Denmark in the tournament. In September 2012, Nepal appeared in
2012 ICC World Cricket League Division Four, where
Subash Khakurel and
Anil Mandal each scored a century.
Subash Khakurel scored 115 off 142 balls against
United States and
Anil Mandal scored 113 off 134 balls against
Denmark. In a match against
Malaysia,
Shakti Gauchan set up Nepal's convincing victory with a new record. The left-arm orthodox spinner's figures of 10–8–2–3 is the best economical bowling spell ever in limited over encounters. Nepal won all the six matches of the tournament and progressed to
2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three. Nepalese players won
man of the match awards in all the six matches Nepal played and
Basanta Regmi won the player of the tournament award after taking a total of 21 wickets in the tournament. In October, Nepal competed in
2012 ACC Trophy Elite and had to share the trophy with the
UAE after a thrilling tied final in
Sharjah Cricket Stadium,
UAE on 12 October 2012.
UAE posted 241, a target that looked in Nepal's sight after their 94-run opening stand. However, they lost wickets consistently, and eventually needed 12 off the last over with just two wickets in hand.
Shakti Gauchan smacked
Shadeep Silva's left-arm for a six, but could manage only one run off the last ball, hence ending a splendid final match in a tie. Skipper
Paras Khadka scored an unbeaten 106 off just 77 balls against
Kuwait, his maiden century for Nepal, in the tournament. in
Bermuda Nepal competed in
2013 ACC Twenty20 Cup held at home grounds in
Kirtipur and
Lalitpur. Nepal easily marched towards the final of the tournament with high class performance from their captain,
Paras Khadka, and the team thrashed the
UAE by 6 wickets. Nepal had earlier qualified for
2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, reaching the semi-final of the tournament. Nepal had to be satisfied with runners-up status after losing to an
ODI team
Afghanistan by 7 wickets. The Nepalese team was supported by a huge fan following throughout this tournament with an average turnout of 15,000 – 20,000 (about 25,000 in the semi-final and final) during their matches while hundreds of thousands watched live on television – undoubtedly the largest public support outside the Test-playing nations. Nepal won the
2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three held in
Bermuda and qualified for the
2014 World Cup Qualifier. Nepal also played in
2013 ACC Emerging Teams Cup, where under-23 age level teams of the four Test nations –
Bangladesh,
India,
Pakistan and
Sri Lanka took part along with the
UAE,
Afghanistan and the hosts
Singapore. Nepal finished third in
2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier held in
UAE and qualified for the
2014 ICC World Twenty20, defeating
Hong Kong off the last ball of the thrilling quarter-final.
T20I status and series On 28 June 2014, the
ICC awarded
T20I status to Nepal, who took part and performed exceptionally well in the
2014 ICC World Twenty20. Nepal had already played three T20I matches before gaining the status, as the ICC had earlier announced that all matches at the
2014 ICC World Twenty20 would have T20I status. •
First ever T20I match for Nepal Nepal lost the status in July 2015, after failing to qualify for the
2016 ICC World Twenty20. batting during the
2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three during the
2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three Nepal played their first ever
Twenty20 International series against
Hong Kong in November 2014 in
Sri Lanka. Initially the series was scheduled for three matches but only one match was played because of continuous rain and poor ground conditions. Nepal lost the match but
Sompal Kami put in an impressive performance by scoring 40 off 31 balls, coming in at No. 10. This was the world-record for the highest score made by a batsman at that position. Nepal played their second
Twenty20 International series against the
Netherlands from 30 June to 3 July 2015. Nepal lost the 4 match series 3–1.
Paras Khadka was named the player of the series. Nepal missed out on qualification for the
2015 World Cup, finishing ninth in the
2014 World Cup Qualifier in
New Zealand in January. Nepal were the best of the three associate teams on display in Group A of the
2014 ICC World Twenty20. They comprehensively beat
Hong Kong, held their own with the bat against
Bangladesh and pulled off a strong win against
Afghanistan, their first since 2004 in any format against their old rivals. Nepal's bowlers did not bowl a single wide or no ball throughout the tournament. Nepal were also the only team to not concede 140 in an innings in the tournament. Nepal finished third in the
2014 ACC Premier League, where they beat
ODI teams
UAE and
Hong Kong, and qualified for the
2014 ACC Championship. In September, Nepal participated in the
2014 Asian Games but failed to qualify beyond quarter-finals. Nepal won the
2014 ICC World Cricket League Division Three held in
Malaysia and qualified for the
2015 ICC World Cricket League Division Two.
Gyanendra Malla scored his maiden century, 114 off 125 balls, against
Singapore in the tournament. In November, Nepal toured
Sri Lanka, as
Sri Lanka Cricket approved a request from the
Asian Cricket Council to support the region's Non-Test playing countries, where they played two three-day matches against
Sri Lanka Cricket Combined XI. and a
Twenty20 International series against
Hong Kong.
2015 – 2019 Nepal finished fourth in the
2015 ICC World Cricket League Division Two in
Namibia and qualified for the
2015–17 ICC World Cricket League Championship. But Nepal failed to secure promotion to Division One and qualification to
2015–17 ICC Intercontinental Cup after finishing third in the round-robin stage.
Basanta Regmi became the first bowler to take 100 wickets in the
World Cricket League. He achieved this feat after taking 2 wickets against
Netherlands in the tournament. On 11 April 2015, Nepal hosted a 63-over (31.3 overs per side) tribute match in honour of the Australian cricketer
Phillip Hughes who was batting on 63 when he was struck by a bouncer. The match was played at the
TU Cricket Ground,
Kirtipur between Team Red, combined of players of Nepal and
Australia and Team Blue, composed of all Nepalese players. In June, Nepal toured
Netherlands to play a
Twenty20 International series against the home team. Then Nepal appeared in the
2015 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier held in
Ireland and
Scotland, where the team finished seventh in the Group A, thus failing to qualify for the second consecutive
ICC World Twenty20. Nepal finished second in
2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Two to earn a place in the
2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier. On 15 March, Nepal claimed
One Day International (ODI) status for the first time with their win over
Papua New Guinea in the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier 9th place play off encounter. Due to gaining ODI status, Nepal also regained
Twenty20 International (T20I) status. After gaining ODI status, Nepal's captain at the Cricket World Cup Qualifier,
Paras Khadka, said that they want to gain
Test status, which he believes will take between eight and ten years to achieve. Nepal played their first 3 match ODI series against UAE and won 2–1, their first ODI series win. Paras Khadka became the first batsman to score an ODI century for Nepal.
Sundeep Jora became the world's youngest player to score a half-century in T20I format, at the age of 17 years and 103 days. In October 2019, the
Cricket Association of Nepal, which was suspended in 2016, was readmitted as an ICC member.
2020 – 2022 Nepal hosted
United States and
Oman in the
fifth round of the
2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 in February 2020. Nepal won 2 games (1 each) out of 4 in the series. In the last match of the series, Nepal bowled out the United States for the joint-lowest total of 35 in ODI cricket.
Kushal Malla (Nep) made his ODI debut, and at the age of 15 years and 340 days, he became the youngest male cricketer to score an international half-century while playing against the USA on February 8, 2020. Nepal hosted the
Netherlands and
Malaysia in the
2020–21 Nepal Tri-Nation Series in April 2021. Nepal finished top in the points table winning three out of four group matches and qualified for the final, where they played against the Netherlands. Nepal comprehensively beat the Netherlands by 142 runs and won the series.
Kushal Bhurtel, making his debut for Nepal, scored 278 runs in the series at an average of 69.50 and a strike rate of 140.40 and won the Player of the series award. Nepal toured Oman in September 2021, to play two ODI matches against
PNG. They won both matches comfortably, showcasing their skills and determination on the cricket field. In the first ODI, Nepal won by two wickets with 63 balls remaining.
Sandeep Lamichhane won the man of the match award for his impressive bowling attack of 4/35 in his 10 overs, while
Rohit Paudel scored the highest for Nepal with a steady knock of 41 off 65. In the second ODI, Nepal won by a whopping 151 runs with
Sandeep Lamichhane again winning the man of the match award for his exceptional bowling of 6/11 in 5.1 overs.
Aasif Sheikh,
Kushal Bhurtel,
Bikram Sob made ODI debut for Nepal in this series. The second ODI was the day/night match of the series. Nepal then played 4 back-to-back day/night ODI in September 2021 against
USA and
Oman. it was the sixth round of the
2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2. In the first match against the US,
Kushal Bhurtel won the man of the match award with his score of 84 off 93 and 3 catches, helped Nepal beat USA by 5 wickets with 6 balls remaining. Nepal lost its second game of the series with Oman by 5 wickets even though
Aasif Sheikh scored 90 off 112 in this match. Nepal lost its third game of the series as well, this time against the US by 6 wickets.
Gulsan Jha made his ODI debut in the match. Nepal won its last match of the series against Oman by 7 wickets with 190 balls remaining.
Karan Kc won the man of the match in the game for his bowling spell of 4/25. In march of 2022, Nepal toured
UAE for the seventh round of the
2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 to play 2 games each against
UAE and
PNG. In the first match of the series against PNG, Nepal won by 2 wickets with 4 balls remaining.
Rohit Paudel was the man of the match for his 60 off 83 balls.
Sagar Dhakal made his ODI debut in the game. Nepal lost both of their 2nd and 3rd game against UAE by 48 and 99 runs respectively Nepal won its 4th game of the series against PNG by 7 wickets with 78 balls remaining.
Aarif Sheikh was the man of the match for his all-round performance of 59* off 102 and 1/21 in his 10 overs. Nepal toured the
United States for the eighth round of the
2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 to play 2 games each against
United States and
Oman. In the first match of the series against Oman, Nepal lost by 13 runs despite the 5 wickets haul by
Karan KC (5–38 in 10 overs).
Sunil Dhamala made an ODI debut in this match. The second match against the USA was declared tied as both teams could not surpass 274 runs in the given 50 overs each.
Dev Khanal made his half-century whereas
Mohammad Aadil Alam made his ODI debut and took 3 wickets for the team. Nepal won its 3rd game with wide margin against Oman by 7 wickets with 101 balls remaining.
Karan KC was the man of the match for his 5/33 in 9 overs whereas
Aasif Sheikh(62) and
Kushal Bhurtel(56) scored half-centuries and
Sandeep Lamichhane got 3 wickets in the match. Nepal lost its last game of the series against the US by 39 runs despite
Karan KC's 3-wicket-haul and
Aarif Sheikh's 63 runs with the bat. Nepal then travelled to the
Scotland for the ninth round of the
2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 to play 2 games each against
Scotland and
Namibia in July 2022. Nepal lost its first game of the series against Namibia by 40 runs. Spinner
Sandeep Lamichhane took 4 wickets and
Aarif Sheikh scored 50 runs in the match.
Basir Ahamad made an ODI debut for Nepal(Cap 33). Nepal beat the Scotland in the next game by 5 wickets with 149 balls remaining.
Aasif Sheikh was the player of the match with his score of 71 off 62 balls whereas bowlers
Sompal Kami and
Mohammad Aadil Alam took 3 wickets each. The next game was against Namibia which they lost again by 63 runs
Sandeep Lamichhane's 4-wicket haul. Nepal lost its last game against the host Scotland as well by 8 wickets with 186 balls remaining. Fast Bowler
Kishore Mahato made his ODI debut in the game(Cap 34). In between the league 2 ODI games, Nepal toured
Kenya to play 5 T20I against the host
Kenya in August 2022. Nepal won the first game by 5 wickets with 4 balls remaining.
Sompal Kami was the man of the match for his bowling spell of 3/22 in 4 overs. Kenya won the second T20I by 18 runs
Basir Ahamad made T20I debut for Nepal in that match. Nepal won the third T20I by 4 wickets with 3 balls remaining.
Gyanendra Malla was the player of the match for his 46 off 41 balls.
Arjun Saud made T20I debut for Nepal in this match. Nepal lost the fourth match of the series by 7 runs despite
Sandeep Lamichhane's maiden 5-wicket haul in T20I. Nepal won its final game of the series by 31 runs.
Gyanendra Malla won the man of the match award for his knock of 59 off 44 balls. With the win, Nepal won the series 3-2 and
Sandeep Lamichhane was named player of the series for his 12 wickets in 5 games. The next tour was in December 2022 where Nepal travelled to
Namibia for the tenth round of the
2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 to play 2 games each against
Scotland and
Namibia. The first game was declared no-result due to rain.
Gyanendra Malla scored 75 off 94 balls for Nepal in the match and Opener
Arjun Saud made his ODI debut for Nepal(Cap 35). In the second game, Nepal lost with Scotland by 3 wickets and 107 balls remaining. In the third game, Nepal lost against Namibia by 86 runs. Spinner
Lalit Rajbanshi took 4 wickets in the game. In the fourth game of the series against Scotland, Nepal was all out for 119 runs in 36th over and lost the game pretty marginally by 8 wickets with 198 balls remaining.
2023 - Present In early February 2023, Nepal appointed
Monty Desai of
India as head coach ahead of a home series against
Scotland and
Namibia, part of the eleventh round of the ongoing World Cricket League 2 at
Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur. Nepal won all four matches. Bhurtel scored a maiden ODI century against Namibia, Airee contributed an 85* all-round performance against Scotland, and Paudel scored 95 in a tense final-ball win over table-topping Scotland. Nepal then travelled to
Dubai for the twelfth round, facing
UAE and
Papua New Guinea. They won three of four matches, beating PNG twice and UAE once, with their only loss coming against UAE by 68 runs. In the thirteenth and final round, played at home, Nepal required 4 out 4 wins to directly qualify to
2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier in
Zimbabwe. Nepal beat PNG twice and UAE once, with the last match versus UAE remaining. Winning this match would secure third place, a feat considered nearly impossible before Desai took over as Head Coach. In the last match with the help of
Asif Khan 41 ball 100, UAE posted 310 runs on board. Half-centuries from
Bhim Sharki,
Kushal Bhurtel,
Aarif Sheikh, and
Gulsan Jha took Nepal to 269/6 in 44 overs. The umpires ultimately called off the match due to fading light. With the DLS target set at 261, Nepal stood 9 runs ahead, securing a dramatic victory and their spot in the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier. Nepal finished third out of seven teams, having won 11 of their last 12 matches. Nepal hosted the
2023 ACC Men's Premier Cup in April and May, which served as the
Asia Cup qualification tournament.
Kushal Malla struck the fastest ODI century by a Nepali batter, reaching three figures off 59 balls against Oman. In the same match, Lamichhane became the fastest bowler to 100 ODI wickets, reaching the mark in 42 matches, beating
Rashid Khan's record of 44. After topping their group and defeating Kuwait in a rain-affected semi-final, Nepal faced UAE in the final. In a match interrupted by rain, Nepal restricted the UAE to 117, led by Lalit Rajbanshi's 4/14. They chased the target comfortably thanks to Jha's unbeaten 67. Despite heavy downpours, thousands of devoted Nepali fans remained at the stadium, gaining widespread international attention and praise. The victory confirmed Nepal's first-ever qualification for the Asia Cup. At the
2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, Nepal's opening match against hosts
Zimbabwe on June 18 was the first time Nepal played an ODI against a Full Member nation.
Kushal Bhurtel scored 99 and
Aasif Sheikh 66 in a record 171-run opening stand yet it wasn't enough as Zimbabwe won by eight wickets. Nepal beat USA in their second match, with
Karan KC taking four wickets and
Bhim Sharki scoring 77*. They lost to
West Indies and
Netherlands, failing to reach the Super Six and finishing eighth out of ten teams after also losing the seventh-place playoff final to Ireland. Nepal played their first
Asia Cup in August and September 2023, placed in Group A alongside
India and
Pakistan. In the opening match versus Pakistan at
Multan Cricket Stadium, Pakistan posted a target of 343 with the help of
Babar Azam and
Iftikhar Ahmed century and Nepal were bowled out for 104 in 23.4 overs and lost by 238 runs. The second match at
Pallekele was Nepal's first ever official match against India. The fixture was highly anticipated, drawing widespread attention across the subcontinent and regarded as a landmark moment for Nepali cricket. Nepal batted first and put up a competitive total.
Aasif Sheikh top-scored with 58 off 97 balls and
Sompal Kami struck 48 off 56 in the lower order as Nepal were dismissed for 230. In the rain affected match, India easily chased down the revised target of 145 run with the help of an unbroken 147-run opening stand from
Rohit Sharma and
Shubman Gill to win by ten wickets. Despite the loss, Nepal's performance drew praise from commentators and cricket observers, with Nepal widely noted as having given India a good fight. Nepal did not advance from the group stage, with Pakistan and India qualifying for the Super Fours. At the
2023 Asian Games in
Hangzhou, Nepal posted 314/3 against
Mongolia, the highest team total in T20I history at the time. Kushal Malla scored 137* off 50 balls, including the fastest T20I century on record at 34 balls, while Dipendra Singh Airee hit the fastest T20I fifty at 9 balls. Nepal beat
Maldives in the next match but lost to India by 23 runs in the quarter-final. Nepal qualified for the
2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup after defeating
UAE in semifinal of
2023 Asia Regional Final. This marked Nepal's second World Cup appearance and their first in 10 years. Competing in Group D, they were drawn alongside the
Netherlands,
Sri Lanka,
South Africa, and
Bangladesh. Nepal lost their opening match to the Netherlands, and their subsequent fixture against Sri Lanka was abandoned due to rain. In the 3rd match, the Nepali bowlers restricted the Proteas to 115 runs. However, Nepal fell heartbreakingly short, losing by just one run after a run-out on the final ball. Already eliminated before their final group match, Nepal ended their campaign with a loss to Bangladesh, where they were bowled out for 85. In September 2025, Nepal faced the
West Indies at
Sharjah Cricket Stadium for their first-ever bilateral
T20I series against a
Full Member, even though the Caribbean side rested several key players. The series was named the
Unity Cup commemorating the resilience shown during the
2025 Gen Z protests. Nepal won the opening match by 19 runs, recording their first ever T20I victory against a Full Member nation. They sealed the series in the second match with a 90-run win, dismissing West Indies for 83, the lowest total by a Full Member team against an Associate nation in T20Is. West Indies won the third match by 10 wickets, but Nepal finished 2-1, also marking the first time Nepal won a bilateral series against a Full Member team.
Kushal Bhurtel was named Player of the Series, largely due to his bowling performance. Nepal qualified for the
2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, hosted by
India and
Sri Lanka, through the
Asia/East Asia-Pacific Qualifier held in
Oman in October 2025. Their opening match against
England at
Wankhede Stadium was the most talked-about of their campaign. England posted 184 runs on the board with the help of half-centuries from
Will Jacks and
Jacob Bethell. Nepal nearly pulled off the tournament's biggest upset, needing just 10 runs from the final over, but
Sam Curran’s precise
yorkers denied them victory. Despite being praised for their performance against England, Nepal suffered a shock 10-wicket defeat to
Italy in their next game. Against
West Indies, Nepal recovered from a top-order collapse with
Dipendra Singh Airee scoring 58 off 47 balls but were beaten comfortably. Nepal's campaign ended with three consecutive defeats before their final group match against
Scotland, where Airee's unbeaten 50 off 23 balls helped them to a seven-wicket win, Nepal's first T20 World Cup victory in 12 years and their first in the main tournament. == Team image ==