2026 Nepal Women's Preparation Series
| Dates | 7 January 2026 – 11 January 2026 |
|---|---|
| Administrator | Cricket Association of Nepal |
| Cricket format | Women's Twenty20 |
| Tournament format | Round-robin (preparation matches) |
| Host | Nepal |
| Participants | 3 |
| Matches | 3 |
| Official website | Cricket Association of Nepal |
The Nepal Women's Preparation Series 2026 was a women's Twenty20 cricket preparation tournament organised by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) ahead of the 2026 Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier.[1] The preparation series was held in January 2026 at the Mulpani International Cricket Ground in Kathmandu, Nepal.[2]
The tournament featured the Nepal women's national team playing preparation matches against the United States and Scotland women's teams, who were participants in the Global Qualifier. Although Zimbabwe were named in early reports, they did not take part in the series; as a result, the United States played an additional match against Nepal.[3][4]
Background
Nepal qualified for the ICC 2026 Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier through the Asia regional qualification pathway.[5] The Global Qualifier served as the final stage of qualification for the 2026 ICC Women's T20 World Cup, which was to be hosted in England and Wales.
As the host nation for the Global Qualifier,[6] CAN scheduled a short preparation tournament to provide its players with competitive match practice under local conditions. The tournament was officially announced by the Cricket Association of Nepal on 6 January 2026 through its verified social media platforms.[2]
Zimbabwe were initially included among the participating teams for the preparation series but did not take part in the matches; as a result, the United States played an additional game against Nepal.
Venues
All matches in the tournament were played at the following venue:
| Venues in Kathmandu District | |
|---|---|
|
Cricket Venues in Kathmandu |
Kageshwari-Manohara, Mulpani |
| Mulpani International Cricket Ground
(Upper Mulpani Cricket Ground)
| |
| Capacity: 5,000 | |
| Matches: 3 | |
Squads
Players named in their respective squads for the 2026 Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier participated in the preparation matches.[7]
| Nepal[8] | Scotland[9] | United States[10] |
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Warm-up matches
v
|
||
Puja Mahato 48 (33)
Ritu Singh 2/20(3 overs) |
- Nepal women won the toss and elected to field.
- Warm-up match played between Nepal women and USA women.
Fixtures
The fixtures were announced by CAN on 6th of December.[3]
v
|
||
Samjhana Khadka 54 (28)
Ritu Singh 2/23 (4 overs) |
Ella Claridge 76 (45)
Suman Bista 1/14 (2 overs) |
- Nepal women won the toss and elected to bat.
- Preparation match before 2026 Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier.
v
|
||
- Scotland women won the toss and elected to bat.
- Preparation match before 2026 Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier.
- Kathryn Bryce was retired hurt due to an injury.
v
|
||
Ella Claridge 39 (23)
Manisha Upadhaya 2/31 (3 overs) |
- United States women won the toss and elected to bat.
- Preparation match before 2026 Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier.
- The game was initially scheduled against Zimbabwe but was later rescheduled against the United States women.
Broadcasting
The opening match of the series was not streamed live. From the second match onwards, live coverage was made available on the Cricket Association of Nepal's official YouTube channel, using an analytical camera setup rather than a full professional broadcast. Live scores for all matches were provided through the CricClubs platform.[11][12]
- CricClubs: Live Scores
- YouTube: Live Stream
Purpose
The tournament was intended to:
- Provide competitive match practice ahead of the Global Qualifier
- Assist team management in assessing player form and combinations
- Allow teams to acclimatise to playing conditions in Nepal
See also
- Nepal women's national cricket team
- 2026 Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier
- Cricket Association of Nepal
References
- ^ "इतिहास रचिँदै : नेपाली महिला टोलीले पहिलो पटक घरेलु मैदानमै टेस्ट राष्ट्रसँग खेल्ने". Kantipur TV. 6 January 2026. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
- ^ a b "आईसीसी महिला टी-२० विश्वकपको ग्लोबल छनोटको तयारीमा राष्ट्रिय महिला क्रिकेट टिम-३ देशसंग सिरिज खेल्ने". Kantipur TV. 6 January 2026. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
- ^ a b "Women's Prep Series ahead of the qualifiers". Facebook. Cricket Association of Nepal. 6 January 2026. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
- ^ Hamro Khelkud (7 January 2026). "आइसिसी महिला विश्वकप ग्लोबल क्वालिफायरअघि नेपाल, अमेरिका, स्कटल्याण्ड र जिम्बाब्वेसम्मिलित सिरिज हुँदैछ। नेपालले आज पहिलो खेल अमेरिकासँग खेल्दैछ।". Facebook (in Nepali). Retrieved 7 January 2026.
- ^ "Nepal to host 2026 T20 World Cup global qualifier". The Kathmandu Post. 31 July 2025. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
- ^ "Nepal to host ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 Qualifier (reissue with correction to para 3 regarding automatic qualifiers)". ICC. 31 July 2025. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
- ^ "All the squads for ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier 2026". ICC. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
- ^ "Nepal name squad for Women's T20 World Cup Global qualifiers". ICC. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
- ^ "Scotland women's squad named for T20 World Cup Qualifier". Cricket Scotland. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
- ^ "UNITED STATES AMERICA WOMEN (ICC WOMEN'S T-20 WORLD CUP QUALIFIER)". CricClubs. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
- ^ "Live scores". CricClubs. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
- ^ "Cricket Association of Nepal YouTube Channel". YouTube. Cricket Association of Nepal. Retrieved 7 January 2026.