RIYADH: The Saudi national cricket team flew into Nepal on Monday ahead of the 2023 ACC Men’s Premier Cup, which begins on Tuesday.
The competition is an integral part of the Asian Cricket Council’s new pathway structure, serving as the final stage of qualification for the 2023 Asia Cup in Pakistan, which itself is a preparatory tournament for the 2023 Cricket World Cup in India
Saudi Arabian Cricket Federation CEO Tariq Ziad Sagga confirmed to Arab News that the team had arrived safely in Kathmandu, three days ahead of their first match.
Earlier, in a message posted on its official Twitter account, the federation said: “The Saudi National team is heading to Nepal to participate in the ACC Premier Cup, which will be held from April 18 to May 1. Good luck champions.”
The 10 competing nations will compete in two groups of five, with the top two from each qualifying for the semi-finals.
“Just one more day to go!” the ACC said on Monday in a message posted on Twitter. “The highly anticipated ACC Men’s Premier Cup will begin tomorrow in Nepal. Ten teams will be fighting for the crown — the winner will directly progress to the 2023 Men’s Asia Cup!”
Saudi Arabia are in Group A and their first match in the tournament will be against Malaysia at the Mulpani Ground in Kathmandu on April 20. In their remaining group-stage matches the Saudis will face Qatar on April 22, Nepal on April 24 and Oman on April 26. The teams in Group B are the UAE, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Singapore and Bahrain.
The semi-finals will be played on April 29, the third-place play-off on April 30 and the final on May 1.
The 16th Asia Cup is scheduled to take place in September. The matches will be played as 50-over one day internationals. Six teams will compete, with the winners of the Premier Cup joining the five full members of the ACC: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.