India, Feb. 9 -- A placard held by a fan during Nepal's washed-out match against Sri Lanka in Florida at the 2024 T20 World Cup read thus: "If ICC schedules matches for Nepal in the moon. Nepalese fans will be there."

Not sure about the moon, but Nepalese fans are indeed there in Mumbai. And they are making their presence felt in the early stages of the 2026 T20 World Cup unlike any other nation's travelling fanbase.

This is the moment Nepal cricket had been waiting for. A dream, as a Nepal fan termed it, to play a World Cup in India. The excitement among the Nepal contingent - from players to officials to travelling fans - is palpable, and the support that their national team attracts is evident in the 17,000-plus that flocked the Wank...