KATHMANDU, Aug 7: Nepal national cricket team has received an official invitation from Oman Cricket Board to participate in five-team T20I series including Ireland, the Netherlands and Hong Kong, scheduled for October 3 start.
Nepal’s involvement in the multi-national series will be confirmed in couple days according to the team manager Raman Shiwakoti.
Nepal ‘A’ playing against Ireland ‘A’ today
“The series was planned before the ICC WT20 Asia Finals but as a part of preparations for the global qualifiers (ICC World T20 Qualifiers). But unfortunately Nepal was not able to qualify,” said Shiwakoti in conversation with Republica.
Similarly, Shiwakoti has already mailed the International Cricket Council (ICC) for official approval of the team’s participation. He added: “It is a matter of formality before ICC should approve our participation.”
The global qualifier for the T20 World Cup, to be held in Australia, was scheduled for October 11 to November 3. Nepal missed the opportunity to seal its place after losing to Singapore in the winner-takes-all final league match between the two teams.
The loss came as huge setback as Nepal was regarded as heavy favorites to qualify for the global qualifiers.
Oman had hosted Ireland, the Netherlands, and Scotland in similar kind of series earlier this year at Al Amerat cricket ground. Played in a single round-robin format Scotland tipped fellow European nations on net run rate to win the title.
