KATHMANDU, AUGUST 22

Nepal national team head coach Monty Desai urged all the stakeholders to celebrate the Asia Cup as a festival.

'We are going to play in the Asia Cup for the first time and everyone should celebrate this event as a festival,' Desai said at an interaction programme with reporters on Tuesday, hours before the team's departure to Pakistan for the premier One Day International (ODI) tournament.

The Asia Cup is slated for August 30 to September 17 in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, with six teams - five ICC full members from the region and a qualifier - fighting for the ultimate glory. Nepal earned the berth in the Asia Cup as the champions of the ACC Premier Cup held in Kathmandu in May and they are in Group A along with mighty India and Pakistan. Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan are in Group B.

'These players have played some high-class matches in the last six months - in the ICC World Cup League-II and the World Cup Global Qualifiers. Although the results did not go our way in the World Cup Qualifiers, these cricketers displayed great attitude in Zimbabwe,' said Desai. 'I want them to carry on with the same attitude in the Asia Cup as well,' he said.

The Asia Cup, which was originally scheduled to be held in Pakistan, is being organised in two nations after India refused to travel to Pakistan and the ACC accepted Pakistan Cricket Board's hybrid model. Nepal will take on Pakistan in Multan on August 30 and they travel to Sri Lanka to play against India in Kandy on September 4.

Regular skipper Rohit Paudel will lead the team in probably the second biggest event after the country's participation in the 2014 World Cup in Bangladesh. Paudel said all the team members were excited to play against the best players of the world. 'The dream is going to be materialised as we are all set to play against India and Pakistan in the same tournament,' said Paudel.

'The outcome is not in our hands but the process to follow is in our control. And we all are committed to put in our best efforts,' he added. 'We are not under any kind of pressure as we are going to enjoy the matches that we have waited for more than two decades,' said Paudel.

Karan KC, Asif Sheikh, Gulshan Jha, Kushal Bhurtel, Arif Sheikh, Lalit Rajbanshi, Bhim Sharki, Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Sandeep Lamichhane, Sompal Kami, Pratis GC, Kishor Mahato, Sundeep Jora, Arjun Saud and Shyam Dhakal are the other members of the team. Nepal are playing in the Asia Cup for the first time. They had qualified for the tournament in 2004 but the event got cancelled due to political tensions between India and Pakistan.

As the winners of the ACC Premier Cup, Nepal had also qualified for the Emerging Teams Asia Cup where they played against 'A' teams of India and Pakistan in Sri Lanka earlier this month.

The team also underwent a 15-day Special High Performance Camp in Sri Lanka after the Emerging Teams Asia Cup and played four practice matches against the Sri Lankan development sides.

Earlier, President Ram Chandra Paudel bade farewell to the team at his residence in Shital Niwas and extended his best wished to the players.

A version of this article appears in the print on August 23, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.