Dipendra Singh Airee

Born in Mahendranagar, Nepal, Dipendra Singh Airee established himself as one of the premier all-rounders in Associate cricket and a cornerstone of Nepal's national team. Known for his explosive middle-order batting, tight off-break bowling, and athletic fielding, he first caught attention in the 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup and the 2017 ACC Under-19 Asia Cup, where he famously captained Nepal to a historic victory over India U-19 with an all-round display of 88 runs and four wickets.

He made his senior List A debut in March 2017 before making his One Day International and T20 International debuts for Nepal in July 2018 against the Netherlands. As Nepal consolidated its status in international cricket, Airee emerged as a core fixture across both white-ball formats, regularly anchoring run chases, providing key breakthroughs with the ball, and taking on vice-captaincy duties to guide the young national squad.

Airee made international headlines with record-breaking performances in the T20 format. During the Asian Games in Hangzhou in September 2023, he shattered the world record for the fastest T20I half-century, reaching fifty off just 9 balls against Mongolia. In April 2024, during an ACC Men's Premier Cup fixture against Qatar, he became only the third batter in T20I history to hit six sixes in a single over, joining Yuvraj Singh and Kieron Pollard.

He subsequently featured for Nepal in the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup in the Americas and became the first Nepalese cricketer to cross the milestone of 1,000 runs and 50 wickets in T20Is. His record-breaking feats accelerated his demand across international franchise leagues, leading to appearances in the Global T20 Canada, the International League T20 with Gulf Giants, and being drafted by Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League.

Continuing his strong presence through 2025 and 2026, Airee retained his position as one of the top-ranked T20I all-rounders in the ICC player rankings. By April 2026, he was named captain of Nepal's T20I team. Heading into September 2026, he was selected to lead Nepal at the 2026 Asian Games, solidifying his role as the talismanic leader of Nepalese cricket.