Big chance for Team Nepal to win medal at Asian Games

 

With the  20th edition of the Asian Games around the corner, taking place in Aichi Prefecture and Nagoyo Japan  from September  19th  to October 4th 2026,once again the men’s national cricket team of Nepal will be under the spotlight.

Team Nepal will be in action in the Men’sTwenty20 international cricket championship,hoping to write history.

 

All rounder Dipendra  Singh Airee is the skipper of the T20 squad. He spearheads a side studded with highly experienced and talented players who have demonstrated their potential  and  cricketing  abilities on the international stage,time and time again.

Looking back at the teams’ performance in the last T20 Men’s World Cup held in India and Sri Lanka early this year, they  performed fairly well.

In the group stage they  won 1 and lost three matches.They recorded an impressive win  over Scotland and were inches away  from  achieving a milestone victory over England in what could have  been the biggest upset of the tournament before going down narrowly by 4 runs.

In spite of defeat their  performance won hearts and minds of cricket fans all over the world.They were overwhelmed with praises for their potential,cricket skills and strong showing.

Nepal has been performing much better in the T20 International format than in ODIs based on their performance in major tournaments ranging from World Cup to Asian Games so far.

In the 2022 Asian Games held in China,Nepal put in a dominant performance,which included a handful of outstanding individual performances that caught the attention of the cricket world.

Against Mongolia Airee  became the  fastest  player to score 50 runs off just 9 balls in T20I, breaking the 16- year- old world record  held by India’s Yuvraj Singh.

Likewise, in the same match Kushal Malla slammed the fastest century off 34 balls in T20I.

They made short work of Mongolia and Maldives in the group matches .In the quarter- finals they went down to the eventual gold medal winners India by 23 runs.

The majority of players in the squad for the upcoming Asian Games are familiar faces who have been playing together for a fairly long time,representing the country in various international tournaments.They have the experience and  skills to deliver the desired results.

Speaking of  players,both opener Kushal Bhurtel and pacer Sompal Kami who were dropped from the team that lifted the  2026 ACC Men’s Premier Cup recently are back in the lineup.

Similarly,making a comeback to the side are Kushal Malla,Aarif Sheikh,Lokesh Bam and Nandan Yadav.

However,the budding  talented trio of  Ishan Pandey,Dev Khanal,Arjun Kumal did not make it to the squad.

Nepal is in Group A alongside Afghanistan and Japan.The top two  finishers in the group advance to  the quarter-finals

Their Asian Games campaign  gets off against Afghanistan on September 25th. 

Given Nepal's record in T20,they stand a very good chance to reach the quarter- finals.

The winners of the group play against Sri Lanka,while  the runners up take on defending champions India.

They have an intriguing opener against an experienced,strong and  talented Afghanistan outfit.

Apparently,they must peak their performance,play consistently and to their full ability.There is virtually  no room for error of any kind and mediocrity in order to come out victorious.

In the second match against Japan,Nepal is heavily favored to win.That said,they  must not  take victory for granted and underestimate the opponent who has  home advantage and is free  of pressure.

In fact,the hosts  have nothing to lose in the tie.

Thus,Nepal  has to perform at their very best to avoid a big upset.This is another big opportunity for them to showcase their skills, prove themselves to the cricketing world and make history.

They must  rise to the occasion,put together a winning performance combining a high degree of consistent collective effort and individual brilliance throughout the tournament.

Both batters and bowlers will have to be at the top of their game,producing a  flawless performance.

They need to be razor focused,one hundred percent committed and disciplined.Additionally,they must have a winning mindset,fully apply themselves and perform with utmost confidence.

Let us hope that Team Nepal elevates their performance to a new level,lives  up to expectations and successfully capitalizes on the chance,making them a potential medal contender.