There was no shortage of praise for the Rhinos during their 2026 T20 World Cup campaign in Mumbai, India, in February.

Nonetheless, despite showcasing good cricket against some of the best teams in the world, Nepal, failing to slay a giant in the biggest stage once again, got knocked out of the group stage and returned home with feedback.

And the major suggestion was that Nepal should play more long-format cricket to gain more experience and skills that would help the players perform better in the shorter format.

And it seems the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), the governing body of Nepali cricket, took the suggestion seriously.

CAN, on Friday, announced that the Jay Trophy Men’s Elite Cup, Nepal’s only multi-day cricket tournament, has been expanded to six teams.

“Previously, the top four teams of the Men’s PM Cup participated in the Jay Trophy,” reads a statement signed by CAN spokesperson Chhumbi Lama. “From the next season, the top six teams will participate.”

The Jay Trophy concluded last month on March 17 with the top four teams—Nepal Police Club, Tribhuvan Army Club, Armed Police Force (APF) Club and Bagmati Province—from the 2025 Men’s PM Cup.

The three departmental clubs and seven provincial teams are currently in action in the 2026 Men’s PM Cup with two major aims. The first is to lift the Men’s PM Cup title.

If the first aim became far-fetched, the second aim, until Thursday, was to finish as one of the top four teams and qualify for the Jay Trophy. However, after CAN’s Friday notice, the teams breathed a sigh of relief as they now have the top six spots as their second aim.

APF and Bagmati improved their standings on the points table after defeating Koshi and Madhesh during their Men’s PM Cup fixtures on Friday, respectively.

A five-run win over Koshi in Janakpur saw APF climb to the fifth position with nine points from eight games. Bagmati followed the departmental side with eight points from eight games after a 35-run win over Madhesh in Birgunj.

Meanwhile, despite staying in the fifth and sixth positions for now, APF and Bagmati’s positions are not secure. They are followed by Lumbini (seven points from six games) and Gandaki (five points from seven games).

Each of the 10 teams in the Men’s PM Cup will play nine games. Lumbini and Gandaki are facing off in Birgunj on Sunday.

On the other hand, APF and Bagmati will play their last league-stage matches against Madhesh and Lumbini on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.

Karnali (three points from eight games) and Koshi (one point from eight games) are the only teams to no longer have a chance for the top six.

The expansion is expected to benefit provincial teams more. It is because three of the top four positions in the PM Cup are often secured by the three departmental sides, disallowing provinces to play in the Jay Trophy.

Is Stuart Law the happiest?

Nepal’s head coach Stuart Law, who was appointed in March last year, has been stressing the need for Nepali players to get more exposure to the longer format.

“Nepal aims to be a Test-playing nation,” Law shared his awareness of Nepal’s dream during his first press conference after taking the job on April 26 last year. But he also said that it was a big ambition and will take time. He added, “We need to first set up a proper structure in the team, and below them.”

Since then, Law, across several instances, has raised the need for more longer-format cricket in Nepal.

And he raised the issue louder during the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Mumbai, where he applauded the role of the Nepal Premier League in improving the players while accepting the shortage of similar exposure to the longer format.

“The way cricket in Nepal is building, the Nepal Premier League, is good. Hopefully, with the NPL, we also get a multi-day format,” Law said during the pre-match conference before Nepal faced the West Indies in the 2026 T20 World Cup. He was indicating that Jay Trophy should be expanded so that more players could get exposure to the longer format of the game.

Law had added, “In longer formats we learn how to play the game, the shorter format is where we have fun.”

Longer format of cricket, especially Test cricket, is said to be the epitome of the gentleman’s game.

“Welcome to Test cricket,” it is what Sachin Tendulkar said to himself after he faced four continuous bouncers in an over by Wasim Akram during his first Test match, which was against Pakistan in Karachi in 1989.

In his autobiography ‘Playing It My Way’, Tendulkar, who has the most runs in Test cricket’s history, then writes, “Not without reason is it [Test cricket] acknowledged as the most challenging format of the game.”

In an interview with the Post in December last year, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the West Indies great, had also said that Nepal should organise not just T20 cricket, but also tournaments in other formats.

“Longer formats, like two-day competitions, are important. It is because it will allow players to learn to play longer games and innings,” said Chanderpaul, who was then in Nepal as the head coach of Janakpur Bolts in the second season of the NPL. “And when kids play multi-day cricket, it will help them develop better. It will make shorter formats easier for them too.”

It will still take time for Nepal to implement tournaments like India’s Ranji Trophy and England’s County Championship. However, for now, CAN has shown that it plans to make multi-day cricket better in the future by expanding the Jay Trophy to six teams.

And Law, who has one more year remaining with the Rhinos, could be the happiest with the decision, as he will get to see more talents test their might in the longer format at the next season of the Jay Trophy.