Will Nepal reach the Twenty20 World Cup for the second time in a row? The answer can only be given by the Asia-East Asia Pacific World Twenty20 Qualifiers starting from Wednesday in Al Emirates, Oman.

9 nations including Nepal will compete in Twenty20 World Cup Asia-East Asia Pacific Qualifiers. The top 3 teams will qualify for the Twenty20 World Cup to be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka in February-March. Nepal, UAE are seen as possible teams to reach the Twenty20 World Cup. If that happens, Nepal will play the Twenty-20 World Cup for the third time. 

The level of competition in the Asia region qualifiers can only be experienced by the team that plays in that qualifier. Qualifying matches are very brutal and even a single loss can lead to elimination from the tournament. Nepal had to suffer a similar fate in the global selection held in Oman in 2022. It is considered easier to play in the World Cup than to compete in this field. 

Zimbabwe was the only International Cricket Council (ICC) full country that failed to qualify for the Twenty20 World Cup in the US and West Indies last year. Due to which Zimbabwe had to play the African regional selection this year. The same Zimbabwe has just defeated Namibia in the final of the African region qualifiers and has confirmed the place for India and Sri Lanka.

Nepal, Oman and Papua New Guinea did not have to play the regional qualifying tournament this year because they played in the Twenty-20 World Cup in America and West Indies last year. Oman and Nepal reached the finals of the Asia region and Papua New Guinea became the East Asia Pacific champions and reached the World Cup. From this time on, Asia and East Asia Pacific regions are combined. 3 teams will reach the World Cup from here. 

UAE failed to reach the World Cup after losing to Nepal in the semi-finals of the last Asia Qualifiers. For the same reason, the team had to play the regional selection of the Asia region. UAE and Qatar from Asia Qualifier 'B' and Malaysia and Kuwait from 'A' have passed the Qualifier stage and have reached the Twenty-20 World Cup Asia-East Asia Pacific Qualifier. 

The 9 participating nations are divided into three groups of Asia-East Asia Pacific qualifiers. The top two teams from each group will advance to the Super Six. Teams that reach the Super Sixes do not have to play against teams that have already played in the group stage. Participating teams will play 4-4 matches in the Super Six and the top three teams will advance to the World Cup. 

How is the group stage?

Group 'A': Malaysia, Qatar and UAE

Group 'B': Nepal, Kuwait and Japan

Group 'C': Oman, Papua New Guinea and Samoa

The Japanese team has reached Oman as the winner of the East Asia Pacific 'B' region. Japan won all 6 matches of the double round robin in the 4-nation qualifier held in South Korea last year. 

Samoa took home advantage last year. Samoa won 4 out of 6 matches and lost 2 while becoming the qualifiers in the East Asia Pacific 'A' region. Cook Islands had the same result but the team finished behind Samoa in net run rate. 

Ex-superstar in Oman

Former New Zealand captain Ross Taylor is taking the field for the Twenty-20 World Cup Asia-East Asia Pacific Qualifiers to be held in Oman. Taylor, who retired from international cricket 4 years ago, is about to make a comeback. However, he is making a comeback in international cricket playing for Samoa and not New Zealand. Taylor retired with the goal of leading Samoa to the Twenty20 World Cup. 

Taylor considers it a great honor to play for his mother's country. Taylor has scored more than 18,000 runs by playing a total of 450 matches with 112 Tests from New Zealand. His strike rate is above 130 in all Twenty20s. The 41-year-old Taylor made his comeback in the first warm-up match against Malaysia in Oman. In the match where Samoa was defeated by 14 runs, Taylor could score only 4 runs in 8 balls. If both Samoa and Nepal advance from the group stage, these two nations will meet in the Super Six. 

World Cup hosts: India and Sri Lanka

Twenty-20 World Cup qualifiers: Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, America, West Indies

ICC rankings: Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan 

Regional Qualifiers:

American region: Canada

Europe: Netherlands and Italy

Africa: Zimbabwe and Namibia

After reaching the second stage of the World Cup in its own land, America was directly selected for the upcoming World Cup. It also opened the fate of Canada. In the absence of the United States, Canada, which did not have to compete in the American selection, managed to reach the Twenty-20 World Cup for the second time in a row. 

There was a big ups and downs in the selection of Europe. Italy made it to the Twenty20 World Cup for the first time. In the process, the team overtook Scotland, who remained in the strong team of the Associate. Italy, captained by Joe Burns, who had played in the Ashes series with Australia, had a crucial 12-run victory over Scotland in the round robin match, which proved decisive for Italy's first ever World Cup. The Netherlands reached the World Cup as the winner and Italy as the runner-up. The Asia-East Asia Pacific Qualifiers will determine the final three teams remaining in the Twenty20 World Cup. Again, the question will be the same, will Nepal reach the Twenty-20 World Cup cricket for the second time in a row?