The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has submitted a letter to the International Cricket Council (ICC) expressing their concern about the absence of a practice match between Nepal and a Test nation. The ICC recently released the schedule for warm-up matches preceding the Cricket World Cup Qualifiers to be held in Zimbabwe next month.
According to the schedule, each team will play two warm-up matches. However, out of the associate nations, Nepal is the only one not scheduled to play against a Test nation. Instead, Nepal has been allocated warm-up matches against associate nations Oman and UAE.
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CAN finds this arrangement unfair and has communicated their dissatisfaction to the ICC through an email sent on Tuesday. Durgaraj Pathak, the acting secretary of CAN, stated that Nepal has not yet received a response from the ICC. Pathak emphasized the importance of Nepal playing at least one warm-up match against a Test nation and requested a reconsideration of the schedule while there is still time.
Nepal’s warm-up matches are currently scheduled against UAE on June 13 and Oman on June 15. In contrast, the associate nations Netherlands, Scotland, and America are slated to play two warm-up matches each against Test nations. UAE and Oman, who will each play a warm-up match against Nepal, also have the opportunity to play against a Test nation.
The World Cup qualifiers will take place from June 18 to July 9, featuring a total of ten teams, including four Test nations and six associate nations. Nepal is placed in Group A alongside former world champions West Indies, host team Zimbabwe, the Netherlands, and the United States. The group stage matches for Nepal will be held in Harare, starting with their match against Zimbabwe on June 18 at Harare Sports Club.
