Nepali national cricket team got an opportunity to play against Test-playing giants Pakistan in a 50-over one-day match in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ahead of their ICC World Cricket League Championship matches against Papua New Guinea (PNG).

It will be Nepal’s first ever 50-over match against a Test-playing nation. Nepal’s only encounter against a Test playing nation was against Bangladesh but it came in cricket’s shortest format during the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 in Chittagong.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has set the match against Pakistan squad which will be hosting England for three Tests,

four ODIs and three Twenty20 Internationals. Nepal will play Pakistan after the third Test between the two giants concludes in Sharjah on November 8.

Coach Pubudu Dassanayake confirmed about the clash against Pakistan but said he was unaware of the nature of Pakistan squad. “We are yet to get confirmation about the squad that we are going to play but playing against even an ‘A’ team from a Test-playing side is big opportunity for us,” said Dassanayake. Before starting the ODI series on November 11, both England and Pakistan will play one practice match each on November 8. England will take on Hong Kong on the same day.

Since Nepal have a Division 2 status, the match against Pakistan will count as List ‘A’ encounter. Dassanayake, who will quit as Nepal coach after PNG matches in November, said his side is excited to play against the likes of Pakistan. “This is something we have been dreaming for a long time. Playing against a Test squad will be a big moment,” added Dassanayake.

Nepal will play their two home matches against PNG under the WCL on November 16 and 18 in the UAE after ICC relocated the games citing ‘security reasons’. Apart from the match against Pakistan, Nepal are also scheduled to play two-day match against Hong Kong in Dubai slated for November 5 and 6. They will follow up the two-day game against Hong Kong by 50-over matches against Danube—a local corporate team consisting of expats—on November 10 and Oman on 14. The entire schedule for Nepal ahead of the PNG matches has been arranged by ICC.

Dassanayake wants to make his last assignment with the Nepali national team an unforgettable one. “We have been provided with a good opportunity to fine-tune our performance against PNG. We want to win both matches against PNG as it will boost the morale of the team before other fixtures in the WCL. “

Nepal had won themselves an opportunity to play the WCL after finishing fourth in January’s WCL Division 2. The WCL includes eight teams who will play two 50-over games in a round robin league. The top six teams from the WCL after the league will join four bottom teams from the ODI rankings in the 2019 ICC World Cup Qualifiers which will be held in Bangladesh.

Nepal have lost their first round of the WCL 2-0 away to Scotland and sit at second from the bottom. Apart from PNG and Scotland, Nepal will also play the UAE,

Hong Kong, Namibia, the Netherlands and Kenya in the WCL.