Nepal represents enormous potential for cricket and could be tomorrow’s Afghanistan or even New Zealand, ICC Chief Executive Sanjog Gupta said.

The ICC has pumped nearly $5 million into Nepal’s cricket development in the last two years and has awarded the country co-hosting rights for next year’s Under-19 Women’s World Cup.

Sanjog told Reuters that the Land of Himalayas has massive potential in the sport: “Not because the country is a significant commercial market, but because of their rapidly improving standards ⁠of performance and the scale of fandom the sport enjoys in the country.”

He opined that Nepal belonged to the global stage and could be the association nation to watch out for in the coming years.

“They could be tomorrow’s Afghanistan, or tomorrow’s ​New Zealand for that matter,” Sanjog said.

“They have developed an elite player ⁠pool which is consistently breaking through the ICC pathways and not only featuring at our marquee events, but proving that they belong on the global stage.”

The ICC official felt Nepal benefitted from a deep passionate fanbase. “Fans today are also the players of tomorrow”.

“One of my personal highlights from the T20 World Cup 2026 was the sea of red at the Wankhede (Stadium), which had turned up to support Nepal against Scotland,” Sanjog said.

Nepal beat Scotland by seven wickets to claim its first victory on that world stage since 2014, although ‌both teams had already been eliminated.