Bhutan Women's Cricket Returns to the International Stage.
The fixtures have been announced. The squad has been named. And for anyone who has followed Bhutan women’s cricket closely, the significance of what is about to unfold in Kuala Lumpur this June goes far deeper than a group stage draw.
When Bhutan’s Women’s National Cricket Team takes the field at KTJ Oval on 3rd June against Hong Kong, it will mark their first appearance in international cricket since the Lotus Cup.
The top four teams will qualify for both the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 and the Women’s Asia Cup Rising Stars 2027.
The squad that boards the flight to Malaysia carries with them everything that was built during that time – the preparation, the patience, and a hunger that only comes from waiting. Fourteen players. Four officials. One shared purpose.
Group D presents a genuine challenge. Nepal, Hong Kong, and Qatar are all sides with experience and quality at this level. Bhutan opens its campaign against Hong Kong on 3rd June at 12:00 PM (BST), followed by the highly anticipated clash against Nepal on 4th June at 7:30 AM (BST), a match that will capture the attention of cricket fans across the region. The group stage concludes against Qatar on 6th June at 7:30 AM (BST), with the top two sides from each group advancing to the quarter-finals from 10th June onwards.
These are the matches that create opportunities, and Bhutan’s Women are ready to seize every single one. The ACC Women’s Premier Cup sits within the official qualification pathway for the Women’s Asia Cup — the pinnacle of Asian women’s cricket for emerging nations. Every delivery bowled, every partnership built, every hard fought victory in Kuala Lumpur is a step towards something larger.
Captain Anju Gurung reflected on the moment ahead of the tournament: “We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. The squad has worked incredibly hard and we are going to Malaysia with full belief in ourselves. We are ready.”
Women’s cricket in Bhutan has been growing steadily, and tournaments like the ACC Women’s Premier Cup are precisely the platform the sport needs to accelerate that growth. The exposure, the competition, the experience of performing under pressure against strong regional opposition and it all feeds back into the grassroots, inspiring the next generation of young girls across the country to pick up a bat and believe that the international stage is within reach.
This June, in Malaysia, Bhutan women’s cricket does not just return. It announces itself.
📅 ACC Women’s Premier Cup 2026 | 1st — 13th June 2026 | 📍 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia