Nepal Tour UAE 2026 1st T20I Sharjah Day 1 Preview Broadcast

Nepal's 2026 tour of UAE opens with a 1st T20I at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on the indicative date of 22 November 2026. Sharjah's small straight boundaries, combined with both sides' deep spin-bowling rosters, set up an unusually run-heavy associate T20I rubber. Nepal arrives off a strong run including a Tri-Series final win.

Day 1 timings

A 19:30 GST start under floodlights. Sharjah operates on UAE-wide GST (UTC+04:00).

Zone	Start time
GST (Sharjah)	19:30
IST	21:00
Nepal Time	21:15
GMT	15:30
BST	16:30
AEST	01:30 (next day)

Series fixture context

T20I	Indicative Date	Venue	Capacity
1st	22 Nov 2026	Sharjah Cricket Stadium	17,000
2nd	24 Nov 2026	Sharjah Cricket Stadium	17,000
3rd	26 Nov 2026	Dubai International Cricket Stadium	25,000

Probable XIs

Nepal: Rohit Paudel (c), Aasif Sheikh (wk), Kushal Bhurtel, Dipendra Singh Airee, Kushal Malla, Sundeep Jora, Gulshan Jha, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Sompal Kami.

Lamichhane's wrist-spin and Airee's middle-order finish remain Nepal's biggest match-winners.

UAE: Muhammad Waseem (c), Aryansh Sharma, Asif Khan, Vriitya Aravind (wk), Rahul Chopra, Aayan Afzal Khan, Junaid Siddique, Ali Naseer, Muhammad Jawadullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja.

Waseem's power-hitting at the top is the projected differentiator. Karthik Meiyappan provides the wrist-spin foil.

Broadcast and streaming

UAE Cricket's official broadcaster is FanCode worldwide for ICC pathway events. ICC.tv as the global free fallback. Nepal: NCB's YouTube live stream is the projected free option. Indian audiences should access through FanCode.

Tickets and venue logistics

Sharjah ticketing through Platinumlist and the Sharjah Cricket Stadium portal. General admission projected AED 30-50, premium grandstand AED 100-200. The ground is reachable by Sharjah Metro and short rideshare; gates open three hours before the toss. International visitors should book hotels in Sharjah or northern Dubai for short transfer times.

Weather and pitch read

Sharjah in late November is mild with low rain risk. The surface is true and skids on through the middle overs; first-innings totals over the past 10 T20Is have averaged 165. Dew arrives roughly at the 12th over of the second innings. Toss winner often bowls.

What this match means

Nepal arrives off a strong tri-series form line. The series is also a CT 2027 pathway moment for both nations and a window for Nepal to demonstrate consistency at full-member cousin level. UAE is rebuilding around younger talent; the series is a checkpoint.

For Nepal's recent form context, see the Nepal vs UAE 2026 tri-series final recap. For Paudel's broader leadership profile, the Paudel double tri-final piece sets the captaincy context.

Toss at 19:00 GST. Sharjah under floodlights is the most evocative associate-cricket setting in the world. Expect a 165-170 par with a tight finish.