India’s support for Nepal’s cricket development is emerging as a steady pillar of bilateral ties, aligning with its broader ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy. Next month, the Nepalese national cricket team will train at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
The training programme, scheduled from August 20 to September 4, 2025, is aimed at preparing the Nepalese team for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifiers in Oman later this year.
Facilitated by the Government of India, in coordination with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), the initiative builds on a series of similar engagements over the past two years.
Earlier this year, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Nepal’s national team and CAN officials in New Delhi, reaffirming India’s commitment to supporting cricket in Nepal. The collaboration included coaching camps, competitive exposure with Indian state teams and youth-level exchanges that are helping build a more robust pipeline of cricketing talent in Nepal.
In addition to hosting senior teams, India has supported Under-19 and women’s cricket in Nepal. Notably, Nepal’s women’s team held a training camp in Delhi ahead of their successful run to the finals at the ICC Women’s Asia World Cup Qualifiers in Thailand this May. Promising junior cricketers have also benefitted from specialised coaching programmes in Bhopal and elsewhere.
Oli to Visit India Soon
This growing sports partnership comes amid expectations of a visit by Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who assumed office for a fourth term in July 2024. Though no dates have been officially announced, sources suggest his visit to India could take place in late August or early September, following his trip to Turkmenistan for a UN conference.
In his current term as PM, Oli’s first visit abroad was to China in November 2024, and while there had been a delay in scheduling a trip to India, bilateral contacts have remained active. His phone call to Prime Minister Modi in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack—in which he condemned the violence—was seen as a positive diplomatic gesture. The two leaders also met earlier this year during the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok.
With a shared border of over 1,700 km and longstanding cultural and economic ties, India and Nepal continue to maintain regular high-level exchanges. Since 2014, there have been 17 visits at the level of Head of State or Government, underscoring the importance of sustained engagement.
