Nepal women’s cricket team in action in Challenge Trophy in Rwanda

Come April 18th the  national women’s cricket team of Nepal will be back in action in the African continent.

 

Nepal will compete against the United States ,Rwanda, Italy and Vanuatu in the inaugural edition of the 2026 International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s Challenge Trophy taking  place in Rwanda from April 18th to  May 2nd.

ICC selected Rwanda Cricket Association to host the tournament.

The  five teams  were picked from the five ICC development regions-Asia, Aftica , Americas, East Asia Pacific and Europe based on the teams’ standings and performances in the recently concluded regional qualifiers for the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.The other criteria was  rankings of teams  in Emerging Nations.

The format of the tournament is T20 and will be played in two rounds with each team playing against the same opponent twice.

All in all every team will conclude the two rounds playing six matches . It will be a clash between the  sides from different  development regions for the first time in the T20 format.

The competition is part of a new three tier development program undertaken by ICC to provide emerging teams optimal high quality playing time, the much needed exposure and  invaluable experience.  

While Nepal represents Asia,the United States,Italy,Rwanda and Vanuatu represent Americas, Europe, Africa and East Asia Pacific respectively.

This is a very important incentive to further  develop, grow  and promote women’s cricket in the  regions on the part of ICC.

More importantly,it helps  teams to improve performance,learn the finer points of the game and become competitive. 

The competition is bound to benefit players in all aspects of the game. It provides them ample opportunity to work  on their shortcomings,nurture their  cricketing skills and improve their mental game.

It is indispensable for players to put in every bit of effort to make the most out of the competition by  showcasing their potential, confidence and playing capability.

Nepal’s opener is against the United  States followed by  Italy on 18th and 19th respectively .

 

This is the second major  international tournament Nepal is  playing this  year. Early this year they  played in the Global World Cup qualifier hosted by Cricket  Association of Nepal in Kathmandu

It may be recalled that Nepal didn’t quite live up to expectations and failed to cash in on home advantage in the World Cup qualifier.They exited the tournament  with a solitary win.  

The state of  women’s cricket  is far from healthy and satisfactory, but the kind of   progress the teams have  made in competitive cricket in terms of performance and results since their international debut in 2007 can be deemed very encouraging.

It is very obvious that the talent pool in the country is in abundance and the number of young players playing the sport has increased significantly over the years.

Despite the growing popularity of women’s cricket  in the country and the headway cricketers have made, they still face challenges,hindering them from reaching their full potential and achieving  desired goals.

The obstacles are in the form of inadequate infrastructure and facilities,limited international  exposure, poor domestic cricket structure,under investment and neglect.

Women cricketers deserve applause for their passion for the game,commitment, hard work, determination and relentless  efforts to win glory for the country despite challenges and odds staked against them.

The team selected for the tourney is a blend of experienced and young upcoming players . 

As expected, experienced  batters duo  Indu Barma and Puja Mahato are captain and vice captain of the team respectively.

Missing in the squad is highly experienced allrounder Sita Rana Magar.

The competition once again will put players to the test on all fronts of the game.Like in the past, they  have the chance to prove themselves  by delivering the desired results.

They must rise to the occasion,stay focused,perform to their full potential and strengths,carry a high level of confidence,maintain a winning mindset and positive  attitude and put on a consistent performance.

Batting  continues to be the team’s  Achilles heel. They have to overcome the batting slump and significantly improve batting to put  themselves in contention.