Nepal announces T20 World Cup Squad; Comprising Sher, Dropping Bohora

Kathmandu: The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has announced Nepal’s national cricket team for the ICC T20 World Cup. CAN unveiled the 15-member squad under the captaincy of Rohit Kumar Paudel on Tuesday.

The squad includes players who have been regular members of the national team as well as those who impressed in the recently concluded Nepal Premier League (NPL). Sompal Kami is set to become the first Nepali cricketer to play in three T20 World Cups.

Basir Ahmad and Sher Malla have been rewarded for their performances in the NPL. Sher Malla has earned his maiden call-up to the national team. He delivered an all-round performance to help Lumbini Lions win the title.

CAN had initially called 24 players for a closed training camp to select the final 15-member World Cup squad. From that pool, nine players were dropped to finalize the squad. The Sheikh brothers have also been included in the 15-member squad.

Nepal Squad:

1. Rohit Kumar Paudel (Captain)

2. Dipendra Singh Airee (Vice-Captain)

3. Sandeep Lamichhane

4. Sompal Kami

5. Karan KC

6. Kushal Bhurtel

7. Mohammad Arif Sheikh

8. Mohammad Asif Sheikh

9. Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi

10. Lokesh Bam

11. Gulshan Kumar Jha

12. Sandeep Jora

13. Basir Ahmad

14. Nandan Yadav

15. Sher Malla

Players in the Closed Training Camp:

Rohit Paudel, Kushal Bhurtel, Asif Sheikh, Kushal Malla, Sandeep Jora, Dipendra Singh Airee, Gulshan Jha, Sompal Kami, Nandan Yadav, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Lokesh Bam, Arif Sheikh, Aadil Ansari, Karan KC, Sahab Alam, Sher Malla, Binod Bhandari, Bhim Sarki, Ishan Pandey, Basir Ahmad, Pratish GC, Avinash Bohara, and Rupesh Kumar Singh.

Players Left Out of the World Cup Squad:

Aadil Ansari, Binod Bhandari, Bhim Sarki, Ishan Pandey, Sahab Alam, Pratish GC, Avinash Bohara, and Rupesh Kumar Singh.

Nepal is scheduled to play all its group-stage matches of the World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, India. Placed in Group C, Nepal will play its opening match against England on February 8. England and Bangladesh have already announced their provisional 15-member squads for the T20 World Cup, while Italy and the West Indies are yet to do so.

England have recalled fast bowler Jofra Archer, who had missed the Ashes series due to injury, under the captaincy of Harry Brook. Another fast bowler, Josh Tongue, has also been included in the squad. Experienced players such as Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, and Phil Salt have also been named.

England Squad:

Harry Brook (Captain), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Josh Tongue, Luke Wood.

As Bangladesh has stated they will not play cricket in India, there is a possibility that Nepal’s match against Bangladesh could be held in Sri Lanka. Group C includes Bangladesh, Nepal, England, the West Indies, and Italy.

Bangladesh Squad:

Bangladesh have also announced its squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. The Bangladesh Cricket Board named a 15-member team under the captaincy of Liton Das.

The Bangladesh squad includes: Liton Das (Captain), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Saif Hassan, Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, and Shorif Uddin.

Bangladesh are scheduled to play Nepal on February 17.

Nepali version of the news