Nepal captain calls on England to tour Kathmandu

Captain Rohit Paudel has called on England and cricket's other major nations to tour Nepal following their impressive start to the T20 World Cup in India.

The associate side almost pulled off a stunning upset against England on Sunday, losing by four runs in a last-ball thriller.

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West Indies, who played a three-match T20 series last year, are the only Test-playing nation to have faced Nepal outside of World Cups, Asia Cups, the Asian Games or their qualifying tournaments.

"It would mean a lot, especially if Australia or England comes to Nepal," said Paudel.

"That would show world cricket Nepal also plays cricket and plays decent cricket. This World Cup has shown that.

"If Australia, England, India comes our cricket will grow. It will help globalise the cricket more. It is very important."

Nepal, who want to play Test cricket in the future, also narrowly missed out on beating South Africa at the last T20 World Cup, losing by one run.

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They tried to organise more fixtures against the world's best sides afterwards but could not reach any agreements.

It is understood the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) would be open to playing Nepal in the future, but the packed international calendar is an obvious stumbling block.

Nepal 'climbing Everest' for Test dream

"We didn't get the exposure and experience we thought we would get after the [2024] World Cup," Paudel said.

"It is very important for us to get exposure and experience of playing against some of the good teams and test our skills against them.

"If we get an opportunity of playing them regularly, at least one or two series so we can test ourselves, that would be very good."

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Dawid Malan and Jason Roy were among the former England internationals who played in Nepal's T20 franchise league, the Nepal Premier League, last year. It is played in Kathmandu in front of large crowds.

An ECB spokesperson said: "The quality of Nepal's cricket and the passion we've seen from their fans is a great example of how cricket is growing around the world.

"While the international schedule is already busy and challenging, we will always consider how we can continue to support nations like Nepal to grow the game further."

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