By a Staff Reporter
Kathmandu – The national cricket team of Nepal reached Oman on Wednesday morning to take part in the ICC T20 World Cup Global Qualifiers and a four-nation T20 I series.
The cricket team had left Tribhuvan International Airport at 6.30 pm on Tuesday evening. They reached Oman at 3.30 am local time via the UAE. The Nepali team will undergo PCR test today and play a practice match on Thursday.
Nepal will face the hosts Oman in a four-nation T20 I series on Friday ahead of their ICC T20 World Cup Global Qualifiers. The match will help Nepal figure out the level of Oman who are also in the same group in the World Cup qualifiers with Nepal. It is a good opportunity for both the teams to find their drawbacks and prepare for the qualifiers. The match between Nepal and Oman will be held at 3:45 pm at Al Emirate Cricket Ground.
Nepal will then take on the UAE on Saturday and face Ireland on Monday. Following the three matches, Nepal will then announce the final 15-member squad for the world cup qualifiers. There are currently 17 players in the team. Two of them will be axed after the T20I series.
More than 15 players are not allowed in ICC tournaments but it is the board that decides the number of players for cricket series.
Besides Nepal, other teams featuring in the Global Qualifiers include Oman, Bahrain, Canada, Germany, Ireland, the Philippines and the UAE. Among the eight teams, Ireland, the UAE, Bahrain and Germany are in Group B.
The opening match will be held on February 18 in which Nepal will face hosts Oman. Two teams that make it to the final will be able to play the T20 World Cup to be held in Australia from October 16 to November 13 later this year.
Nepali squad:
Sandeep Lamichhane (Captain), Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Dipendra Singh Airee, Gyanendra Malla, Sharad Vesawkar, Aarif Sheikh, Karan KC, JItendra Mukhiya, Avinash Bohora, Ahahab Alam, Kamal Singh Airee, Kushal Malla, Bivek Yadav, Sagar Dhakal, Lokesh Bam and Pradeep Airee.
