KATHMANDU, Aug 29: Nepal, which is going to participate in  the Asia Cup cricket for the first time, will play the home team Pakistan on Wednesday. The opening match of the 16th edition of the Asia Cup will be held at the Multan Cricket Stadium in Pakistan at 3:45 PM.

The Nepali cricket team is preparing to play against Pakistan, the number one country in the world in the ODI rankings. The first match between Nepal and Pakistan will take place on Wednesday. The Asia Cup is being jointly organized by Pakistan and Sri Lanka. After becoming champions in the ACC Premier Cup held last May, Nepal has been selected for the Asia Cup. In the final match of the tournament, Nepal defeated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by seven wickets.  

Out of the 13 matches in the Asia Cup, four matches will be played in Pakistan while the remaining nine matches will be played in Sri Lanka. Six nations will participate in the tournament. The tournament is divided into two groups - Group 'A' consists of Nepal, India and Pakistan and Group 'B' consists of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.  

After the match against Pakistan, Nepal will play the second match of the group stage against India on September 4 in Sri Lanka. Captain Rohit Kumar Paudel, Ashif Sheikh, Kushal Bhurtel, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi, Bhim Sarki, Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Karan KC, Gulsan Jha, Arif Sheikh, Sompal Kami, Arjun Saud, Pratish GC, Kishor Mahato, Sandeep Zora and Shyam Dhakal are in the Nepali team. 

 
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