Nepal will be playing their first ever Asia Cup 2023. Cricket fans are wondering how come all of sudden Nepal is playing the Asia Cup which features big teams like India, Pakistan and Srilanka and Bangladesh also is not easy team to defeat in Asian conditions.
Nepal qualified by defeating UAE in ACC Mens Premier Cup 2023 which was held from 18th April to 1st May 2023 with ten teams.
The ten teams were :-
Nepal
Oman
Malaysia
Saudi Arabia
Qatar
UAE
Kuwait
Hongkong
Bahrain
Singapore
Nepal ended up winning that ACC Men’s Premier Cup 2023 to ensure they participate in their first-ever Asia Cup.
Nepal in ACC Men’s Premier Cup 2023:
- Beat Malaysia by 6 wickets in Kirtipur
- Beat Oman by 84 runs in Kirtipur
- Game Abandoned vs Saudi Arabia in Mulpani
- Beat Qatar by 68 runs in Kirtipur
- No Result vs Kuwait in Kirtipur (Semi-Finals)
Though there was no result in the semifinal, Nepal finished higher at the points table and directly qualifief for finals beating UAE in the final by 7 wickets in Kirtipur.
Nepal won all the matches and despite the other teams new into the world of cricket, to remain undefeated in any tournament is big thing and Nepal will be high on confidence entering into the Asia Cup.
Interestingly Sandeep Lamichhane who was accused of rape charges is now playing in the Nepal team.
He was acquitted of the charges on 12 January 2023 on bail of 2 million.
He also played the final and bowled two overs.
