Dipendra Singh Airee

Dipendra Singh Airee (दिपेन्द्र सिंह ऐरी; born 24 January 2000) is a Nepalese cricketer. In August 2018, he was one of the eleven cricketers to play in Nepal's first-ever One Day International (ODI) match, against the Netherlands. During the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, Airee scored the fastest fifty in T20Is, off just 10 balls, against Mongolia. In April 2024, he became the only third player in T20Is to hit six consecutive sixes in an over, doing it against Qatar in the ACC Premier Cup. He is also dubbed as “The Tiger” for his aggressive batting skills.

Career
From Village ground Gajjar and Tilachaur, Airee made his List A debut for Nepal against Kenya in the 2015–17 ICC World Cricket League Championship on 11 March 2017. Prior to his List A debut, he was named in Nepal's squad for the 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. In 2017 ACC Under-19 Asia Cup, he was captain of the Nepal national under-19 team. He scored 88 runs and took 4/39 against India in the group A match and was adjudged man of the match. He scored 88 runs to push the total score to 185/8. India were 91/1 after which he led the attack, forcing a collapse to 166 all out. India U-19 team were the defending champions and Nepal's victory was considered an upset by cricket critics.

He was a member of Nepal's squad for the 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Two tournament.

In July 2018, Airee was named in Nepal's squad for their One Day International (ODI) series against the Netherlands. These were Nepal's first ODI matches since gaining ODI status during the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier.

He made his Twenty20 International (T20I) on 29 July 2018 in the 2018 MCC Tri-Nation Series, against the Netherlands. He made his ODI debut for Nepal against the Netherlands on 1 August 2018.

In August 2018, Airee was named in Nepal's squad for the 2018 Asia Cup Qualifier tournament. In October 2018, he was named in Nepal's squad in the Eastern sub-region group for the 2018–19 ICC World Twenty20 Asia Qualifier tournament. In June 2019, he was named in Nepal's squad for the Regional Finals of the 2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier tournament.

He made his first-class debut on 6 November 2019, for Nepal against the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), during the MCC's tour of Nepal. Later the same month, he was named as the vice-captain of Nepal's squad for the 2019 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Bangladesh. He was also named in Nepal's squad for the cricket tournament at the 2019 South Asian Games. Nepal won the bronze medal, after beating the Maldives by five wickets in the third-place playoff match. In September 2020, he was one of eighteen cricketers to be awarded with a central contract by the Cricket Association of Nepal.

In December 2021, Airee and Gyanendra Malla were sacked as vice-captain and captain, respectively, over disciplinary issues, with the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) appointing Sandeep Lamichhane as the new national captain.

On 26 March 2022, in the second match of a two-match series against Papua New Guinea, Airee scored his first century in an ODI match with 105 runs.

On 2 April 2022, in the final round-robin match of the tri-series, Airee scored his first century in T20I cricket, with 110 not out against Malaysia.

On September 27, 2023, Airee broke a 16-year old world record by Yuvraj Singh for the fastest 50 runs in T20I, breaking the record by scoring 50 in just 9 balls against Mongolia in the 2022 Asian Games. During the match he hit 6 consecutive sixes but in two different overs, hitting 5 sixes in last five balls of an over and another one in next ball he faced in next over.

On April 13, 2024, Airee hit 6 sixes in 6 balls against Qatar during the group stage game in ACC Men’s Premier Cup 2024 held in Oman in the final over of the inning. In May 2024, he was named in Nepal's squad for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament.

Records and milestones
ODI


 * Member of 250 Runs and 10 Wickets in a series Honorary club
 * 7th most catches in a series- 17 catches in 2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2

T20I


 * Highest strike rate in an innings- 520.0- 52* off just 10 Balls against Mongolia at Guangzhou on 27 September 2023
 * Highest partnership for the 5th wicket- 145 runs with Kushal Malla against Hong Kong at Mulpani on 21 October 2023
 * 4th most runs in an innings by batting position- 4th position- 110* against Malaysia at Kirtipur on 2 April 2022
 * 6th for No ducks in career- 46 innings* (as of 11/6/2023)
 * 7th Most fifties in consecutive innings - 3 times against PNG, Malaysia, & PNG
 * He holds the record for fastest T20 fifty by scoring it in 9 balls against Mongolia national cricket team during the 2022 Asian Games
 * 3rd player in history to hit Six sixes in an over against Qatar on 13 April 2024