Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Nepal resumes its ICC World Cup League 2 (WCL-2) campaign with an away tri-series against Scotland and the Netherlands in Scotland on Monday.
Nepal will face Scotland in the opening match of the tri-series at 3:45 pm (NST) in Dundee. This will be Nepal’s first match in the WCL-2 since the rain-affected game against Scotland in the US tri-series on November 4.
The series also marks Nepal’s first competitive outing under new Head Coach Stuart Law.
Nepal will play a total of four matches in the tri-series—two each against Scotland and the Netherlands. After the opener, Nepal will meet the Netherlands on June 4 and June 10, and will face the hosts again on June 6.
Although Nepal began the 2023–2027 cycle of WCL-2 with a home series against Namibia and the Netherlands, it has played the fewest matches among the eight teams in the league.
Performance So Far
Nepal has won only two of the 12 matches it has played in the league so far. It kicked off the World Cup League 2 campaign with a four-wicket loss to Namibia in the home series on February 15, 2024. Although Nepal bounced back with a nine-wicket victory over the Netherlands in the second match, it lost the remaining two games against Namibia and the Netherlands. It conceded an eight-wicket defeat against Namibia and faced a two-wicket defeat against the Netherlands..
In the second tri-series, hosted by Canada, Nepal lost both matches against the hosts—by 103 runs and five wickets. It also suffered a one-wicket loss to Oman, while the final match of the series against Oman was washed out without a ball being bowled.
Nepal then played its third tri-series against the US and Scotland in the US. Nepal lost both matches against the US—by three wickets and 37 runs. It secured a five-wicket win in its first match against Scotland, while the second match against the same opponent was washed out due to rain.
The top four teams in League 2 will reach the World Cup Qualifier. Similarly, the bottom four teams play against promoted teams to retain their ODI status.
Points Table
Nepal has played only 12 matches across three tri-series and currently sits at the bottom of the eight-team table with six points. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), which has played four more matches, is also on six points.
The United States leads the table with 28 points from 20 matches. The Netherlands and Oman, both with 20 matches, follow with 26 and 24 points, respectively.
Scotland is in fourth place with 20 points from 16 matches, while Canada is fifth with 20 points from as many matches. Namibia is sixth with 14 points from 20 games.
Squads
Nepal: Rohit Paudel (captain), Aasif Sheikh, Kushal Bhurtel, Anil Kumar Sah, Bhim Sharki, Aarif Sheikh, Basir Ahamad, Gulshan Kumar Jha, Dipendra Singh Airee, Sandeep Lamichhane, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi, Nandan Yadav, Rijan Dhakal.
Scotland: Richie Berrington (captain), Charlie Cassell, Matthew Cross, Jasper Davidson, Olly Davidson, Jack Jarvis, Mackenzie Jones, Michael Leask, Finlay McCreath, Brandon McMullen, George Munsey, Liam Naylor, Safyaan Sharif, Charlie Tear and Mark Watt
Netherlands: Scott Edwards (captain and wicketkeeper), Shariz Ahmad, Wesley Barresi, Noah Croes, Aryan Dutt, Ben Fletcher, Vivian Kingma, Kyle Klein, Michael Levitt, Zach Lion-Cachet, Teja Nidamanuru, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Roelof van der Merwe and Paul van Meekeren
