Cricket
Nepal’s women’s under 19 cricket squad has completed its second phase of closed training in Bhairahawa, according to a Radio Nepal report published on October 19 at 6:34 am Nepal time. The broadcaster reported that the 13 day programme at Siddhartha Cricket Stadium ended on Sunday, October 18. Twenty eight players selected from all seven provinces participated, with former national player Mahesh Rijal providing coaching.
The camp began on Asoj 20, ahead of preparations for the women’s under 19 Asia Cup and the 2027 ICC Under 19 Women’s T20 World Cup. Former Rupandehi Cricket Association president Prashant Malla described the programme as part of efforts to strengthen the players’ capabilities for international competition.
A separate Khabar Patro account, datelined October 18, provides the preceding preparation sequence: Rijal said an earlier Kathmandu camp had concentrated on fitness and that another training phase would follow Dashain. That account had anticipated the Bhairahawa phase continuing until Kartik 2, while Radio Nepal’s later report says it concluded on Sunday.
Neither account supplies a final tournament squad announcement or a confirmed date for the next camp.
The World Cup objective has a wider national significance because Nepal and Bangladesh are joint hosts of the 2027 edition. The ICC Board announced that hosting decision on November 13, 2022, after a competitive bidding process and review by its event hosting subcommittee. It is an existing allocation, not a new hosting award made alongside the Bhairahawa camp.
A more recent ICC report, published on September 25, 2026, identifies the approaching competition as the third edition of the women’s under 19 T20 World Cup and places it in the January to February 2027 period. That report also shows other countries moving through their own preparation cycles.
England named a 15 player squad, with five additional nontravelling reserves, and planned training in Britain followed by a five match T20 series in India during November and December. England’s programme is context for the international preparation environment, not an announced fixture against Nepal. For Nepal, the immediate verified development remains the completion of this training phase.
The cited camp reports do not establish World Cup match venues, opponents, start times or an Asia Cup fixture list, so no matchday arrangements should be inferred from them.
Nepal can also draw on experience from the previous edition without treating that older squad as the current selection. In an ICC account dated January 25, 2025, then captain Puja Mahato finished Nepal’s campaign in Malaysia with a Player of the Match performance against the hosts in the fourth place playoff.
Her four wickets for nine runs helped restrict Malaysia to a target of 46, and her unbeaten 23 guided Nepal to a seven wicket victory after the chase had slipped to 22 for three. She finished that match with nine wickets in the tournament. The same report noted that some younger teammates could remain involved for the next edition, while Mahato would turn her attention back to senior cricket.
Those details underline the changing personnel inherent in an age group team; they do not confirm which players attended this month’s camp. As analysis, bringing together a provincial training pool and planning successive preparation phases offers a way to work towards the next international cycle while selections are still being developed.
The confirmed news is a completed Bhairahawa programme involving players from across Nepal, rather than a promised tournament result or a newly announced final playing eleven.
Source publication date: 2026-10-19. Event or reporting period: Training completion reported for 2026-10-18; report published 2026-10-19.
Sources:Radio Nepal, October 19 at 06:34:57 NPT; second phase training completion and original article featured image · Khabar Patro, report datelined October 18; training sequence and planned next phase after Dashain; page date labels are inconsistent · ICC, November 13, 2022; original joint hosting allocation, historical background · ICC, September 25, 2026; 2027 tournament context and England’s separate preparation programme · ICC, January 25, 2025; Mahato’s final match and age group transition, historical context only
Source: GPT News Feed
