Thinley Namgay 

The senior national women’s cricket team will be in Malaysia today to participate in the Asian Cricket Council  Women’s T20 Championship 2022, which will commence on June 17.    

Ten countries, including Bhutan, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Nepal, Hong Kong (People’s Republic of China), Kuwait, Bahrain and Singapore are participating in the championship.

The championship is set to resume after a hiatus of over nine years and Malaysian Cricket Association will host it this time.

During the championship, teams will be divided into two groups and  play a single round-robin, where the top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals followed by the finals.

The senior national women’s cricket team of Bhutan is participating in the second major international tournament amid the Covid-19 pandemic after the 2021 International Cricket Council’s  T20 World Cup Asia Qualifiers in Dubai, UAE, in November.

Bhutan Cricket’s chief executive officer, Damber S Gurung, said he got information about the tournament a month ago only and thought the team may not be able to participate. “But it’s an opportunity for our team.”

He said that most players of the current squad have participated in the international tournament in the UAE, four players are selected from the under-19 national team and a few are new. 

“We are hoping for a better performance this time.  The commitment from the players is much better in terms of match scenarios. They are really working hard and if things go right, we are hoping to get into the final,” Damber S Gurung said.  

Bhutan will play the first game on June 17 against Nepal and the next game on June 18 against Hong Kong.

Damber S Gurung said the first two matches are crucial. “We are playing against strong teams.