After making their debut at the Asia Cup 2023, the Nepal cricket team would be hoping to make things count at the Asian Games. On Friday, the Cricket Association of Nepal announced a 15-member squad for the Asian Games, led by young Rohit Paudel. They have made only two changes now from the Asia Cup 2023, where Mausam Dhakal and Kishor Mahato have been dropped.
The team management has opted for two all-rounders — Bibek Kumar Yadav and Abinash Bohara in the squad. Once again, the Nepal cricket team would bank a lot on leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane, who is their most experienced player. He plays in the T20 leagues around the world, including the IPL, and has 112 ODI wickets to his name.
Men’s cricket at the Asian Games begins on September 27, and the Nepal cricket team is placed in Group A alongside Mongolia and Maldives. They play their first match versus the former. Post that, they play Maldives on October 1, and are likely to qualify for the quarters.
At Asia Cup 2023
As far as their performance at the Asia Cup 2023 is concerned, they had a horrendous start against Pakistan, where they lost by over 200 runs. But in their match against India, they were mighty impressive and put 230 runs on the board. Aasif Sheikh scored 58 runs from 97 balls, while Sompal Kami came up with 48 runs lower down the order. But with two defeats in as many matches, Nepal’s campaign, as expected, ended without making it to the knockout. Now at the Asian Games, they will have a chance to redeem themselves and be best in Asia among the minnows at least.
This is only the third time that cricket is part of the Asian Games. It was first introduced in the 2010 edition, where Bangladesh had won the gold medal. In 2014, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh made the top three. In 2018 cricket was left out of the Asian Games, and is making a comeback after nine years.
Nepal Cricket Team for Asian Games
Rohit Paudel, Karan KC, Pratis GC, Aasif Sheikh, Kushal Malla, Gulshan Jha, Sompal Kami, Sundeep Jora, Binod Bhandari, Kushal Bhurtel, Dipendra Singh Airee, Lalit Rajbanshi, Bibek Kumar Yadav, Abinash Bohara, Sandeep Lamichhane
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