The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has finalised India A’s next assignment, with Nepal set to host a three-match T20 series in December. The matches will be played at the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur on December 9, 11 and 13 following discussions between Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) president Chatur Bahadur Chand, secretary Paras Khadka and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia during the ICC Annual Conference in Scotland.
This is huge news for Nepal cricket, which has an upward graph. Meanwhile, the BCCI has done an incredible job, continuing with its trend of sending domestic and A teams to provide quality opposition to emerging cricket nations.
BCCI slowly extending arms for associate nations
Over the last few years, Indian cricket has become one of the biggest supporters of Associate nations through exposure tours and bilateral engagements. In 2024, Nepal participated in the SMS Friendship Cup in Gujarat alongside Gujarat and Baroda state teams as part of their T20 World Cup preparations. Nepal went on to win that tournament, defeating Gujarat in the final.
More recently, Uganda toured Mumbai after the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) signed a five-year partnership with Cricket Uganda. Earlier this month, Vidarbha travelled to Namibia and competed strongly against the Namibian national side.
Now, letting India A tour Nepal is a bigger step. Unlike those previous tours, however, this one is likely to feature several players who are already on the fringes of the senior national side.
The three T20s will be played from December 9 to 13. India’s Test tour of New Zealand concludes on December 1, while the home ODI series against Sri Lanka begins on December 13. That scheduling effectively rules out players expected to feature in the ODI setup such as Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and KL Rahul.
However, it opens the door for several T20 specialists.
Potential India A names could include Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Prince Yadav and exciting youngster Suryansh Shedge. Given that India have no scheduled T20Is during that period, selectors could use the tour to assess players ahead of a packed white-ball calendar in 2027.
The rise of Nepal cricket in recent times
Nepal’s cricket journey over the last year has been heartening to witness. Although they exited the 2026 T20 World Cup in the group stage, they produced one of the tournament’s most memorable atmospheres. Their narrow four-run loss to England at a packed Wankhede Stadium showed how far the team has come, while their victory over Scotland ended a 12-year wait for a World Cup win.
Since then, Nepal have continued its upward trajectory. They dominated the 2026 Asian Games qualifiers, crushing China and Malaysia before defeating Hong Kong in the final to secure qualification for Japan 2026.
More importantly, Nepal’s fan base has become one of the most passionate in world cricket. Their supporters took over Mumbai during the T20 World Cup, creating some of the loudest crowds of the tournament despite being thousands of kilometres from home. Now, those same fans will get the chance to watch India’s IPL stars up close. It will be a great chance for Nepal to test themselves against quality players.
