Kathmandu, Nepal has won the toss and elected to field in the T20I match against the Netherlands. The match between Nepal and the Netherlands will start at 7:45 PM in Glasgow, Scotland. In the first match of this series between home team Scotland, Nepal and the Netherlands, home team Scotland defeated the Netherlands on Sunday. Batsman Kiran Kumar Thagunna and all-rounder Rupesh Singh are making their T20 debuts in the match. Both have been included in the playing XI after making it to the T20 team. Similarly, Lokesh Bam, who was also included in the T20 team, is also taking the field against the Netherlands. Nepali team – Kushal Bhurtel, Lokesh Bam, Anil Sah (wicketkeeper), Rohit Poudel (captain), Dipendra Singh Airi, Kiran Kumar Thagunna, Rupesh Singh, Karan KC, Nandan Yadav, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi. Nepal and the Netherlands have competed in 13 T20 International matches so far. Nepal has won 5 matches while the Netherlands has won 7 matches. They have not won a single match. The last time Nepal and the Netherlands faced each other was in last year’s T20 World Cup. The Netherlands defeated Nepal by 6 wickets in the match held in Dallas, USA. Nepal has taken this series as a preparation for the ICC World Cup 2026 qualifiers. It had already started preparations for the Asia and East Asia Pacific qualifiers. Earlier, Nepal had played a four-nation T20 International series in Hong Kong last Chait. In July, the Nepali team’s schedule for a tour of Sri Lanka to prepare for the T20 World Cup qualifiers was made public. CAN says that the Nepali team will go to Sri Lanka to prepare for the rainy season. The Nepali team will then travel to Australia. In August, Nepal will play practice matches against teams including Pakistan and Bangladesh A teams, as well as Big Bash players. In September, the Nepali team will travel to the UAE to prepare for the World Cup. In the UAE, Nepal will play a three-match T20 series against the West Indies.

After that, Nepal will compete in the World Cup qualifiers to be held in Oman in October. The final selection for Asia and East Asia Pacific for the T20 World Cup 2026 will be held in Oman from October 1. Nine teams, including Nepal, are participating in the competition. Along with Nepal and Oman, the participating teams include Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Somalia, and the UAE. Three of the nine teams will qualify for the T20 World Cup to be held in India and Sri Lanka next year.
Twelve teams have already qualified directly for the T20 World Cup 2026. These include hosts India and Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, the United States, and the West Indies. Apart from the hosts, the other teams have been selected because they reached the Super-8 of the T20 World Cup 2024. Ireland, New Zealand, and Pakistan have been selected based on rankings.
The remaining eight teams will qualify for the World Cup through regional qualifiers. Three teams from Asia and East Asia Pacific, two each from Europe and Africa, and one team from the Americas will qualify for the 2026 World Cup.