Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) will be hosting the 2027 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup (CWC) Qualifier Play-off tournament in Kathmandu from December 04th – 21st, 2026. National teams of United Arab Emirates (UAE), Canada, Italy, Uganda, Jersey, Kuwait, Namibia and the hosts’, will be participating in the completion, which will be played at the venues of TU University International stadium and Mulpani Cricket ground.
There are lots to ponder during this tournament.
- Will the tournament pathway structure towards 2031 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup stay the same, or will there be a different format altogether.
- Who retains ODI status and how the teams currently coming from Challenge League can claim an ODI spot.
- The four teams that advance to CWC Qualifier, will the CWC League 2 ODI Championship structure stay the same for the next cycle for them, or there will be a change to this as well, along with Challenge League.
The tournament itself will be played with ODI status, and Italy, Uganda and Kywait Men’s teams will become the 26th, 27th and the 28th Nations to play the 50-overs format with ODI status. The tournament will be played in a single round-robin group stage format, at the conclusion of which, the top four (4) teams in the points table will advance to the CWC Qualifier, early next year.
ICC Men’s CWC Qualifier Play-off 2026 Schedule
04th December 2026: Nepal vs Italy (Scorecard) ; Namibia vs Uganda (Scorecard)
05th December 2026: UAE vs Jersey (Scorecard) ; Kuwait vs Canada (Scorecard)
06th December 2026: Nepal vs Uganda (Scorecard) ; Italy vs Namibia (Scorecard)
07th December 2026: Kuwait vs Jersey (Scorecard) ; Canada vs UAE (Scorecard)
09th December 2026: Canada vs Italy (Scorecard) ; Jersey vs Uganda (Scorecard)
10th December 2026: Nepal vs UAE (Scorecard) ; Kuwait vs Namibia (Scorecard)
12th December 2026: Nepal vs Jersey (Scorecard) ; Namibia vs Canada (Scorecard)
13th December 2026: Uganda vs Kuwait (Scorecard) ; UAE vs Italy (Scorecard)
14th December 2026: Nepal vs Canada (Scorecard) ; Jersey vs Namibia (Scorecard)
15th December 2026: Uganda vs Italy (Scorecard) ; UAE vs Kuwait (Scorecard)
17th December 2026: Italy vs Kuwait (Scorecard) ; Jersey vs Canada (Scorecard)
18th December 2026: Nepal vs Namibia (Scorecard) ; Uganda vs UAE (Scorecard)
20th December 2026: Namibia vs UAE (Scorecard) ; Italy vs Jersey (Scorecard)
21st December 2026: Nepal vs Kuwait (Scorecard) ; Canada vs Uganda (Scorecard)
5 thoughts on “Cricket Nepal to host 2027 ICC Men’s CWC Qualifier Play-off in December 2026”
Will there be a sub tournament in this play-off to determine which teams are promoted (max 2?) to League Two and which teams are relegated (max 2?) to Challenge League?
Hello Ignazio
Once the event is officially announced through an ICC press release, all details will be known. Whether the pathway structure remains the same for 2031 or it gets changed.
Thanks and regards,
Czarsportz Admin
Looks like top4 will get entry to League 2 and the rest will the Challenge League, unless ICC decides to change the number of teams for League2
Is this tournament will be held in a round robins format or group stages?
Round Robin
All 8 teams play against each other once, i.e. all teams will play 7 matches each