The Asian Games 2023 is set to be held in Hangzhou, China, from September 23 to October 8.
Nepal’s cricket team will compete against Mongolia and Maldives in the group stage of the 19th Asian Games after a rearrangement of the schedule.
Nepal was initially set to play against Japan and Cambodia, however, the withdrawal of Bahrain from the competition necessitated a rearrangement of the schedule.
Nepal will play the first match against Mongolia on the 27th September at Pingfeng Cricket Field. The match against Maldives will be on October 1 at the same venue.
Cricket had previously featured in the Asian Games on two occasions, in 2010 (China) and 2014. However, it was notably excluded from the 2018 Asian Games held in Jakarta.
Nepal’s record in Asian Games:
2010 in China
Nepal was drawn along with Hong Kong and Maldives in the group. Nepal lost the first match against Hong Kong by 15 runs after failing to chase the target of 116 runs.
They defeated the Maldives by 75 runs after posting 129 runs on the board. Binod Bhandari – who is in Nepal’s squad for the Asian Games 2023 top-scored with 32 runs. He is the only man to represent Nepal in all three Asian Games.
The Nepalese team were bowled out for 72 runs against Sri Lanka in the Quarter Final. The bowlers did a fantastic job as the Lankan side registered a close victory, winning the match by two wickets in 18.5 overs.
Bangladesh won the Gold Medal whilst Afghanistan and Pakistan grabbed Silver and Bronze respectively. India didn’t participate.
2014 in South Korea
Nepal, Kuwait and Maldives were placed in the same group. The Nepalese team won both matches to qualify for the quarter-final.
They wrapped up Kuwait for just 20 runs and chased the target in 2.5 overs losing one wicket. Sompal Kami and Basant Regmi picked up three wickets each for Nepal.
Maldives were bowled out for 53 runs in the second match, which Nepal chased in 14.3 overs losing three wickets.
In the quarter-final match, Nepal faced a narrow defeat against Afghanistan. Nepal failed to chase a target of 120 and were beaten by eight runs. Binod Bhandari (48) and Gyanendra Malla (30) were the only batters with double-digit scores.
Sri Lanka won the Gold medal defeating Afghanistan (Silver) while Bangladesh pocketed the Silver. Both India and Pakistan didn’t participate in the event.
Nepal’s Squad for Asian Games 2023: Rohit Paudel (C), Aasif Sheikh, Kushal Bhurtel, Kushal Malla, Sandeep Jora, Binod Bhandari, Dipendra Singh Airee, Bibek Yadav, Gulshan Jha, Karan KC, Sompal Kami, Sandeep Lamichhane, Pratish GC, Lalit Rajbanshi, Avinash Bohara.
Extra records:
Matches Played – 6 (won three and lost three)
Most runs – Binod Bhandari (87)
Most wickets – Basant Regmi and Sagar Pun (7)
Highest Total – 129/9 vs Maldives
