Nevertheless, the National games tended to be limited to Kathmandu until the 1980s. ICC membership Improvements to communications and transport infrastructure in Nepal allowed the game to expand outside Kathmandu in the 1980s and Nepal became an Affiliate Member of the International Cricket Council in 1988. A major development program was begun in the early 1990s, which saw regional and district tournaments being established and the increased promotion of cricket in schools. The local population's interest in cricket increased quickly, and the demand to play was such that restrictions had to be placed on the number teams in several tournaments until more facilities could be built in the mid-1990s. Nepal became an Associate Member of the International Cricket Council on February 2, 1996, which was the year the national side played for the first time in the 1996 ACC Trophy in Kuala Lumpur. Nepal finished fourth out of six teams in their first round group, beating Brunei and Japan. By 1998, the facilities in Nepal had improved sufficiently to allow them to host that year's ACC Trophy at grounds in Lalitpur and Kirtipur (at TU Cricket Ground) and Kathmandu. Nepal themselves were unsuccessful in the tournament, going without a win. Currently, the country has one of the best fan followings among ICC Associate Members. It lost its governing body, the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) which was suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) due to unnecessary government interference in 2016, but it was reinstated in October 2019. T20I status and series On 28 June 2014, the ICC awarded T20I status to Nepal, who took part and performed exceptionally well in the 2014 ICC World Twenty20. Nepal had already played three T20I matches before gaining the status, as the ICC had earlier announced that all matches at the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 would have T20I status. First ever T20I match for Nepal Nepal lost the status in July 2015, after failing to qualify for the 2016 ICC World Twenty20. Nepal played their first ever Twenty20 International series against Hong Kong in November 2014 in Sri Lanka. Initially the series was scheduled for three matches but only one match was played because of continuous rain and poor ground conditions. Nepal lost the match but Sompal Kami put in impressive performance by scoring 40 off 31 balls, coming in at No. 10. This was the world-record for the highest score made by