Nepal Has Strong Chance To Qualify For Women's T20 World Cup 2026: Coach Harshal Jayant Pathak

In a media interaction, Pathak- the former coach of Thailand's women cricket team, expressed confidence in the way the team has shaped up.

"I think there is a very good chance for us to qualify (for the women's T20 World Cup 2026), one aspect is that we are playing in the home conditions. Second is they (his team) have the experience of playing with those teams before, and I can definitely see some improvement in what I have seen them before; three years back and now, there are different unit, different players in terms of approach and all," he said.

"So, I am very much optimistic about it also, we have the home support; Nepali people are so passionate about the game, and they love to support their players, which is heartening to see," Pathak said during the interaction held at Mulpani Cricket ground, where the match for the qualifiers will be held from January 18, next year.

The two grounds of Mulpani, Kathmandu, are hosting the biggest-ever ICC tournament in Nepal. With over two decades of coaching experience at the first-class and state-level cricket in India, Pathak joined the Cricket Association of Thailand (CAT) in November 2018 to look after the country's women's team.

Pathak, who had also worked with Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur from 2016 to 2018, took the Thailand women's team to their maiden T20 World Cup in 2020.

Further, when Thailand entered the Global Qualifier for the 2020 T20 World Cup, they crushed Nepal's chances. In a single-round-robin Asia Qualifier with seven teams, Nepal's only loss came against the hosts, Thailand, by 57 runs on February 21, 2019.

"The qualifier is coming up and is a great boost for women players, also to showcase their talent and prove themselves. Up until now, the journey has been fantastic. I was fortunate to be a part of the Thailand team, which qualified for the World Cup; I would say I have a little bit of experience about that- how the opponents operate and what is required for this kind of tournament," Pathak said on Wednesday.

The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has announced the match schedule for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup Global Qualifier to be organised in Nepal.

The tournament features participation from 10 different nations. According to the match schedule released by CAN today, Nepal has been placed in Group 'B'.

The Nepali women's cricket team has reached the global qualifiers for the first time by getting through the World Cup Asia qualifiers. Scotland, Thailand, the Netherlands, and Zimbabwe are in Group B, alongside Nepal.

The competition will be held from January 14 to February 1. Bangladesh, Namibia, the United States and Papua New Guinea are in Group 'A'.

CAN has said the matches will be held at the Mulpani Cricket Ground and the TU International Cricket Ground in Kathmandu. Nepal will play its first match of the tournament against Thailand on January 18. The match will be held at the Upper Mulpani Cricket Ground.

The top three teams from both groups participating in this competition will be selected for the Super Six matches. From the 'Super Six', the teams that achieve the top four positions will qualify for the Women's T20 World Cup in 2026.

- ANI