Kathmandu, Feb 19 : The Nepal senior men's cricket team will play a T20 tri-series against Baroda and Gujarat in Vapi, dubbed as the 'Friendship Cup' from March 31 to April 7, said its governing body on Monday. The tri-series will kick off on March 31, with Nepal and Gujarat playing the opening match, followed by the Gujarat-Baroda clash on April 1. April 2 will see Nepal play against Baroda, followed by the Gujarat-Baroda clash on April 4. Nepal will face Baroda on April 5, followed by the tri-series ending with the final on April 7.

Nepal is currently ranked 16th in the ICC men's T20I rankings and will be using the tri-series against Baroda and Gujarat to prepare for the upcoming Men's T20 World Cup, to be held in the United States of America and the West Indies from June 1-29.

Nepal has been placed alongside South Africa, Bangladesh, Netherlands and 2014 Men's T20 World Cup winners Sri Lanka in Group D. Nepal will face the Netherlands in their first group match on June 5 at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, USA. They will then take on Sri Lanka at the Broward County Stadium in Miami, Florida on June 11. Nepal's next two group matches will be against South Africa and Bangladesh on June 14 and 16 respectively at Arnos Vale Stadium, Kingstown, Saint Vincent.

This will be Nepal's second appearance in the Men's T20 World Cup, ten years after they first qualified for the 2014 edition of the tournament in Bangladesh. As compared to 16 teams in the 2022 Men's T20 World Cup, 20 teams will be divided into four groups of five each for the first round in the upcoming 2024 edition of the tournament.

The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super 8 stage. In Super 8, teams will be split into two groups of four each. Teams seeded first and second in their groups in the first round will retain that seeding in the Super Eight, provided they qualify.

A1, B2, C1 and D2 finishers will be in one group, while A2, B1, C2 and D1 will be slotted in the other group. The top two sides from two groups of the Super Eight will advance to the semi-finals. Overall, 55 matches will be played in the tournament, across six venues in the West Indies and three stadiums in the USA.

The semifinals will happen on June 26 and 27 in Guyana and Trinidad respectively, before the final happens in Barbados on June 29. This will be the first World Cup event to be hosted by the USA while this will be the second time West Indies will be hosting the Men's T20 World Cup after doing so last time in 2010.

/IANS