Early in February, the Cricket Association of Nepal announced that it wouldn’t renew coach Monty Desai’s one-year contract, which was ending at the end of the month.

After about two months, on March 28, the national cricket governing body revealed former Australian international Stuart Law as Nepal’s senior men’s team’s head coach. Law was supposed to take charge of the team from April for a two-year term but he has yet to touch down in Kathmandu.

CAN has said that Law has been fully updated on the Nepali squad, their training and performances, even if he has not been in Nepal yet.

During the farewell to the Nepali team for the quadrangular series in Hong Kong (April 9-13), then interim head coach Gyanendra Malla said that he had a discussion with Law over the players’ selection and the team’s plan.

“He [Law] has given me freedom,” Malla said. “I have been told to do things my way. Law will be monitoring the team during this series as well and will take over soon.”

As is customary in cricket, the announcement of a new coach almost immediately follows speculations regarding the potential changes to the composition of the squad. And the developments in Nepali cricket since Law’s appointment also suggest that changes are inevitable.

Law to facelift squad

Expectations from the senior men’s team have only been increasing since Nepal played their first T20 World Cup in 2014. During Nepal’s second participation in the T20 World Cup in 2024, the emerging nation almost defeated South Africa, falling short of only a run.

Nepal, however, are yet to qualify for an ODI World Cup. They reached close in 2023 registering a miraculous 11 wins in the last 12 matches of the CWC League 2 under Desai, but could not get past the qualifier in Zimbabwe.

As soon as he arrived, Desai rescued Nepal from a precarious situation in the League, a result of their poor start in the five-year cycle (2019-23). He was still in the helm when the second edition of the CWC League 2 (2024-27), between eight teams, began with the inaugural tri-series, comprising Namibia and the Netherlands, in Nepal in February last year.

Until November 2024, with two games ending without results, Nepal have played 12 games across three tri-series in the league. They have only won two, losing eight others, suggesting that the current squad was struggling.

Nepal, who are second-to-last in the league points table, still have six tri-series remaining. Thus, Nepal still have enough chances to bounce back with Law expected to help Nepal capitalise on them. He has already prepared a plan for it as well.

52 players in core camp

The CAN, on March 30, announced 49 players for a camp that would work as a selection for the CWC League 2 tri-series with Scotland and the Netherlands in June. The number rose to 52 with the addition of three U19 players—Yuvraj Khatri, Naren Bhatta and Santosh Yadav—on Tuesday.

The 52 players have been divided into four teams of 13 each. They will play a friendly tournament, in the presence of Law, in a double round-robin format from April 26 to May 3 at both grounds in Mulpani. Law will land in Nepal on April 25.

According to CAN, Law will build the new squad based on the performances of the players in the ‘core camp’. Nepali cricket enthusiasts have also applauded the selection process citing that the new coach would have the opportunity to bring in-form players on the field.

The four teams—named Blue, Green, Red and Yellow—are captained by Rohit Kumar Paudel, Aasif Sheikh, Sandeep Lamichhane and Dipendra Singh Airee, respectively.

Nepal’s League 2 fixtures

Law’s first tournament with the Nepali side will be the League 2 tri-series against Scotland and the Netherlands after two months. Nepal are facing Scotland, the host, on June 2 and then the Dutch side on June 4.

In the second round, Nepal will play Scotland on June 8 and the Netherlands on June 10.

Nepal will then play two more tri-series in 2025. In October, they will travel to the UAE for a series against the hosts and the US. And in November, they will host the UAE and Oman.

Following this busy schedule, Law’s squad will have a significant eight-month respite from league commitments. The team will resume league action in August 2026, embarking on a tour to the Netherlands alongside Namibia, and subsequently, to Oman with Canada in October 2026.

Nepal will end their campaign in the league after hosting Scotland and the USA in November next year.