5 Cricketing nations that could make Asia Cup more competitive

The 2023 Asia Cup is being played in Pakistan and Sri Lanka and in the inaugural match, Nepal created history by making their debut in the continental tournament. They became the eighth side to play in this marquee cricket tournament played among Asian sides. Nepal’s growth in this sport should be appreciated as they worked diligently and earned the status of T20 International and One-Day International (ODI) status within ten years.

At a time, when the International Cricket Council (ICC) is aiming to engage more countries with this sport, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) can help cricket’s global governing body to achieve its target. It’s not at all hidden that the popularity of cricket has declined among people in Sri Lanka due to their cricket team’s plummeting performance in the international arena. 

Noting these conditions, the ACC will have to intervene to make the sport more popular in the Asian continent. After the 1990s, cricket earned a lot of supporters in the Asian continent and the fan following of the sport in nations such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan corroborate the fact. Following this Asia Cup 2023 edition, the ACC should make it the eight-team competition and invite more developing Asian cricketing nations to play in this marquee tournament.

Here are the five cricketing nations that should participate in future Asia Cup instalments:

5. Kuwait

Kuwait became an affiliate member of the ICC in 1998. From 2000-14, they consistently played the ACC Trophy. In the 2004 and 2014 editions of the tournament, their best performance came in the competition as they ended up in the third spot on both occasions.

The West Asian cricketing nation also participated in the ACC Twenty20 Cup but never emerged victorious in the competition. In the 2020 Asia Cup Qualifier played in the T20I format, Kuwait concluded their journey as runners-up, losing to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the final.

In the 2023 ACC Men’s Premier Cup held in Nepal in April-May, they qualified for the semi-final to play against the hosts. The semi-final game concluded with no result which ended Kuwait’s campaign and also kept them away from participating in the Asia Cup 2023 in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.