(Image Credit: Sri Lanka Cricket via X)
The Nepal men team, although increasing in prominence in international cricket, will not be taking part in the T20 Asia Cup 2025 that will start on September 9 in the UAE. This choice has caused a lot of speculation, more so because Nepal with its impressive T20I track record could not get a place.
Although Nepal has an ODI status, and is ranked 18th in T20Is better than Oman 20th and Hong Kong 24th, two of the countries qualified, they did not qualify because of the qualification structure. In the eight team Asia Cup, five countries that have been direct entrants to play Test matches are India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The other three positions were to be held by the three best teams of the 2024 ACC Men’s Premier Cup, a qualifying event of associate countries.
The 2023 ACC Premier Cup defending champions Nepal did not show a poor performance in the 2024 edition. They led their team in an undefeated streak even under the T20 format where they beat other teams such as Hong Kong and Qatar in the league stage. They failed at the most critical stage, however, at the knockout stage. Nepal lost to United Arab Emirates by six wickets in the semifinals. This was preceded by a second loss in the third place play off where they lost to Hong Kong by four wickets, thwarting the Nepal hopes to make it, as well. Only three teams among them the UAE champions, Oman runners up and Hong Kong third place obtained a berth at Asia Cup.
The result of the same demonstrates a grim reality, the field performance in the qualifiers, rather than rankings, is what ultimately counts as making progress. In the case of Nepal, the fact they are not part of Asia Cup 2025 reminds them that even with the success in the past, they are not guaranteed to include in the future. Although they were one of the more powerful associate members who had attained ODI status, their fortunes at the tournaments were decided by performances and not reputation.
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