England To Tour Nepal? ECB Explore Possibilities Of Historic Series After T20 World Cup 2026 Thriller

92

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) could zero in on sending the men’s contingent to Nepal for a short trip for a T20I series at some stage during the 2027-31 international cycle. Given the thrilling encounter between the two sides in the T20 World Cup 2026 earlier this year, ECB seems to be seeing plenty of promise in Nepal.

What happened when England and Nepal met in T20 World Cup 2026 match?

The T20 World Cup 2026 match at the Wankhede Stadium was the first instance of England and Nepal meeting in a cricket match as a large number of Nepali diaspora graced the occasion. Propelled by half-centuries from Jacob Bethell (55) and Harry Brook (53), England set the sub-continent nation 185 to win. While Nepal slid to 42/2 at one stage, captain Rohit Paudel and Dipendra Singh Airee led a brilliant recovery to put the two-time champions under immense pressure. It finally came down to 14 needing off the last six balls as Sam Curran conceded no boundary to close out the match for England and prevent a mighty scare.

It has come to light that former Nepal captain Paras Khadka, who is now the secretary of Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) met ECB officials in India in March 2026. Although the England men’s team face a packed international schedule, they are exploring the possibility of a short series in Nepal and could become the first major side to tour the country. 2027 is a packed season for England, with the marquee home Ashes series lined up, while Pakistan and New Zealand are also likely to make white-ball visits. The Englishmen are also likely to tour Pakistan.

“What Nepal cricket needs right now is exposure” – Paras Khadka

In a Sky Sports Documentary, Khadka urged the Test-playing nations to tour Nepal for them to become better cricketers and upgrade their games. He said, as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo:

“What Nepal cricket needs right now is exposure. Because we’re an ODI country, we want matches against Test-playing nations because the only way you improve as a cricketer is when you play against better cricketers, when you play against better opponents. That’s when you learn the game. What that will do is that will ignite this whole generation of kids back home, because cricket is now in the hearts of a young Nepali. Cricket is not just a sport. It’s the most uniting factor.”