Namibia, the Netherlands, and the host nation, Nepal, will compete in the first of 24 tri-series starting on Thursday in Kirtipur, which will bring four teams one step closer to qualifying for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027, which will be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.
The eight teams in the league will play 144 matches before the World Cup qualifier, with the other teams being the United States of America, Canada, Oman, Scotland, and the United Arab Emirates.
The top four clubs from League 2 will participate in the World Cup Qualifier. Four teams from the Qualifier Play-Offs and teams not automatically qualified by the ICC ODI Rankings will join them in the qualifier.
Based on the results of the previous World Cup qualification cycle, teams were assigned to the World Cup League 2 and the Qualifier Play-Offs.
Ten direct qualifiers for the World Cup will be joined by the top four teams from the Qualifier, an extremely intense competition that saw two-time world champions the West Indies eliminated the previous time around. The remaining eight top-ranked countries, together with co-hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe, will round out the 14-team World Cup field.
League 2 is crucial to a team’s development, according to ICC Head of Events Chris Tetley.
ICC Head of Events Chris Tetley: “The League 2 fixtures are a very important part of our cricket calendar because they offer a highly competitive cricket schedule that teams can plan their calendars around, in addition to serving as a pathway to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027.”
“A number of the League 2 teams will compete in the USA and the West Indies in this year’s Men’s T20 World Cup. Members of the League 2 series can arrange Twenty20 international matches around their fifty over matches, which is a great way to be ready for the World Cup in the Twenty20 format. In what looks to be an extremely competitive league, I wish every player the utmost best.
Rohit Paudel, the captain of Nepal, was looking forward to the next few months as his side got ready for their first League 2 series at home.
“We are pleased to be hosting the first tri-series of what promises to be a well-contested League 2 with several talented sides in the fray,” said Nepali skipper Rohit Paudel.
With the Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 less than four months away and our ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027 qualification campaign beginning, these are exciting times for us.
“We hope to get off to a fine start in League 2 with this home tri-series. We are heartened and more confident after a 3-0 win over Canada in the recently concluded series.”
Tri-Series fixtures in Nepal
15 Feb: Namibia vs. Nepal
17 February: Netherlands vs. Nepal
19 February: Netherlands vs. Namibia
21 February: Namibia vs Nepal
23 February: Netherlands vs. Namibia
25 February: Netherlands vs. Nepal
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