Nepal will open a two-match T20 International series against the United Arab Emirates on Monday at home, with all-rounder Dipendra Singh Airee leading the side and the first game at the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur set to be played under floodlights for the first time.
The Cricket Association of Nepal has named a 15-member squad for the nep vs uae series, and the second and final match will be held at the same venue tomorrow. Rohit Paudel has been rested from the T20 captaincy as Nepal continues with separate skippers for the T20 and ODI formats, a shift that gives Airee his first run at the job in the shortest format.
The match is Nepal’s first T20 appearance since the T20 World Cup in India two months ago, making the series a quick return to international cricket and an early test of the group that selectors are trying to shape for the future. Pratis GC, Narayan Joshi and Rashid Khan have been listed among the reserve players.
The setting adds its own significance. Kirtipur has hosted plenty of cricket, but never a T20 International under lights, and Monday’s opener gives Nepal a chance to pair a new captaincy structure with a fresh home-stage milestone. The series also arrives with Nepal looking to use these two games as a first look at how its rebuilt T20 unit holds together after a long break from the format.
That makes the next 48 hours more than a simple home assignment. Airee’s first match as captain, the stadium’s first floodlit international and the team’s first T20 since India all land at once, leaving Nepal with a short but important window to settle roles before the second and final match tomorrow closes the series.
