Nepal defeated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the final of the ACC men’s premier cup on Tuesday at the TU cricket venue in Kathmandu to enter the league stage of Asia Cup 2023.
Courtesy of an all-round performance, Nepal scripted history as they qualified for the forthcoming Asia Cup after a comprehensive win over the United Arab Emirates by seven wickets. In doing so, team Nepal is to share the same group as cricketing giants Pakistan and India in the ACC event.
Nepal beats UAE to qualify for Asia Cup 2023
The seven-wicket victory, fueled by Gulshan Kumar Jha’s steady 84-ball 67, guaranteed Nepal’s qualifying for the marquee tournament later this year.
The Rohit Paudel-led side will take the final spot which was up for grabs in Group A, alongside India and Pakistan for the tournament, tentatively scheduled to be played in September. In addition to this, the top-three finishes of Nepal, UAE and Oman at the Premier Cup essentially means that they will feature in the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup in July and face ‘A’ Teams of five Full Members in the region.
Asia Cup 2023: The BCCI-PCB Feud
In October last year ACC president Jay Shah officially told the media that India will not travel to Pakistan.
In reply, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Najam Sethi suggested a hybrid venue model, when matches between India and Pakistan will be played at a neutral venue. “We have decided on this hybrid model that Pakistan plays its Asia Cup matches at home and India their matches at a neutral venue, and that is our proposal to the Asian Cricket Council,” said Sethi.
The Asia Cup, involving six teams, will be played from September 2 to 17, though the exact schedule of matches is yet to be announced due to uncertainty over the venue.
The decision regarding the venue for the Asia Cup will be critical to ensuring that the tournament proceeds smoothly without any untoward incidents. It remains to be seen if the tournament will indeed take place in a neutral venue or if it will move forward in Pakistan as originally planned.
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