Nepal Vs UAE, 1st T20I: United Arab Emirates Anthem Not Played In Opening Ceremony - Report

The first T20 international between Nepal and United Arab Emirates on Monday (April 20, 2026) witnessed a controversial moment as the visiting team's national anthem was reportedly not played in the opening ceremony.

ALSO READ: Nepal Vs UAE Live Score

Nepal-based sports journalist Subas Humagain wrote on X that the public address system played the wrong anthem for UAE twice. Humagain stated, "After Nepal sang their anthem in the official opening ceremony it was UAE's turn. After some delay, one anthme (sic) was played, which went for over 30 seconds and players informed it was wrong.

"After a minute delay, another one was played, and wrong again. Then the players left the ceremony. Captain Mohammad Waseem was visibly upset while walking towards his dugout."

The journalist added that the Cricket Association of Nepal ought to issue a clarification on the matter soon.

Earlier, Nepal won the toss and elected to bat first against UAE. The match is a part of a two-game series, which is special because it will witness Nepal’s first-ever international cricket encounter under floodlights at home. The series has accordingly been dubbed the 'Under Lights T20I Series', with encounters on back-to-back evenings.

Nepal Vs UAE, 1st T20I: Playing XIs

United Arab Emirates: Adeeb Usmani (wk), Muhammad Waseem (c), Alishan Sharafu, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Sohaib Khan, Haider Ali, Khuzaima Tanveer, Muhammad Arfan, Junaid Siddique, Akshdeep Nath, Muhammad Zuhaib

Nepal: Arjun Saud (wk), Basir Ahamad, Dipendra Singh Airee (c), Gulsan Jha, Hemant Dhami, Kushal Bhurtel, Kushal Malla, Nandan Yadav, Sandeep Lamichhane, Sher Malla, Sundeep Jora