Nepal to Face England in T20 World Cup Today

Kathmandu. Nepal is competing against England today in its first match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. Nepal is set to face world champion England on Sunday in the opening match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, which is being jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka. This match will begin at 3:15 PM at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. All of Nepal's matches in the World Cup are scheduled to take place at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.

Nepal secured its spot in the World Cup for the first time in 2014, hosted by Bangladesh. It took Nepal ten years to play in its second World Cup. In the 2024 World Cup, Nepal established itself as a focus of world cricket by delivering excellent performances against South Africa and Bangladesh. Nepal had lost to South Africa by just one run.

Having played in two previous World Cups, Nepal has not been able to advance beyond the group stage. Nepal is playing in the World Cup under the continuous captaincy of Rohit Kumar Paudel. Sompal Kami is the first Nepali player to play in three World Cups.

Nepal is beginning its World Cup campaign by playing against England today. Nepal is in Group C of the World Cup. This group includes Nepal along with two-time world champion West Indies, one-time champion England, Scotland, and Italy. After Bangladesh declined to play the World Cup in India, Scotland received the opportunity based on ICC rankings.

The Nepali team for the World Cup includes Rohit Paudel (Captain), Dipendra Singh Airee (Vice-Captain), Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Nandan Yadav, Sandeep Lamichhane, Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Sundeep Jora, Aarif Sheikh, Basir Ahmad, Gulshan Jha, Lalit Rajbanshi, Sher Malla, and Lokesh Bam. This match will be historic as it marks the first time Nepal is playing a T20I against England in international cricket.