Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has named a 15-member national men’s cricket squad for the 2026 Asian Games with Dipendra Singh Airee as captain.
The cricket matches at the Asian Games will be played in the T20 format from September 17 to October 3 at Korogi Athletic Park in Nisshin City, Japan.
A total of 10 teams will compete in the men’s cricket event at the Asian Games. ICC full members Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka qualified directly for the event. Nepal, Malaysia, Oman and Hong Kong booked their spots through the Asian Games Men’s Qualifier 2026 held in Singapore in May.
Afghanistan will have to play in the group stage alongside the qualifying teams—Nepal, Hong Kong, Oman and Malaysia—and host Japan. The other four ICC full members will play their first matches in the quarterfinal stage.
Nepal are in Group A along with Japan and Afghanistan, while Group B consists of Hong Kong, Oman and Malaysia.
The top two finishers in each group will qualify for the quarterfinals.
Nepal will play their group-stage matches against Afghanistan on September 25 and host Japan on September 26.
Nepal squad:
Dipendra Singh Airee, Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Rohit Paudel, Aarif Sheikh, Kushal Malla, Sundeep Jora, Lokesh Bam, Sandeep Lamichhane, Gulshan Jha, Karan KC, Sompal Kami, Nandan Yadav, Lalit Rajbanshi and Sher Malla.
