Nepal, Hong Kong to tour Sri Lanka in November

The top four Asian Associates - Nepal, Afghanistan, Hong Kong and UAE - are set to tour Sri Lanka after the SLC approved a request from the ACC development manager Bandula Warnapura. Nepal and Hong Kong will be the first two teams out of the four to tour Sri Lanka in November. The decision was taken "to support the region's non-Test playing countries," the SLC said.

"It's a very beneficial offer by Sri Lanka," Warnapura said. "Not only can our teams play high-level cricket, they will be exposed to facilities and a cricket culture that will help to develop their abilities in preparation for global events." The tours will include four three-day matches against SLC representative sides along with a one-day match and three T20 internationals between Hong Kong and Nepal.

Nepal won the ICC WCL Division Three in Malaysia on Thursday, by beating Uganda in the final and lost only one match in the tournament. They played three T20Is in the World T20 earlier this year in Bangladesh and won two of them. Their coach Pubudu Dassanayake said they were "grateful for the opportunity and [were] looking forward to play the first ever T20I series as well as the three-day games." Nepal will arrive in Sri Lanka on November 7, while Hong Kong will reach on November 17.

Hong Kong director of cricket Charlie Burke also expressed his gratitude and said they were "delighted to accept the offer."