Nepal and Oman qualify for men's T20 World Cup

The associate nations booked their spots at next year's tournament courtesy of winning their respective semi-finals at the ICC's Asia regional qualifiers

Phil Campbell | 03/11/2023 at 12:22

Nepal and Oman have both qualified for the men's T20 World Cup in 2024.

The associate nations booked their spots at next year's tournament courtesy of winning their respective semi-finals at the ICC's Asia regional qualifiers.

Both clashes took place in Nepal, as the hosts claimed an eight-wicket win over UAE in Mulpani while Oman thrashed Bahrain by 10 wickets in Kirtipur.

The countries become the 17th and 18th teams to qualify for the T20 World Cup, which will be held in the USA and Caribbean, with the final two places to be confirmed at the Africa qualifier in Namibia at the end of the month.

Nepal had wicketkeeper Aasif Sheikh to thank for their successful chase after economical bowling from spinners Kushal Malla (3 for 11) and Sandeep Lamichhane (2 for 14) – both going for less than four runs an over – restricted UAE to 134 for 9, despite Vriitya Aravind's half century.

The opening batter hit an unbeaten 64 from 51 deliveries, his fourth T20I fifty, including seven fours and one six.

The 22-year-old put on an unbroken third-wicket 68-run partnership with captain Rohit Paudel (34 not out) to guide his team to victory.

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^{Oman were at the 2021 T20 World Cup (Haitham Al-Shukairi/AFP via Getty Images)}

A brilliant spell of 4 for 10 from Oman's Aqib Ilyas laid the foundations for their comprehensive rout over as Bahrain could only muster 106 for 9 in their 20 overs.

Opening batters Kashyap Prajapati (57 not out) and Pratik Athavale (50 not out) then both helped themselves to half centuries as the pair cantered towards the target with 34 balls to spare.

Athavale hit the winning runs with a boundary which also brought up his fifty.

It will be Nepal's second appearance at a men's T20 World Cup having featured in the 2014 edition in Bangladesh – going out in the first stage – while Oman will feature for a third time, after first-stage exits in 2016 and 2021.

They will be joined in the summer by Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Netherlands, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ireland, Scotland, Papua New Guinea and Canada, with the West Indies and USA qualifying as hosts.