Rain has continued in Nagoya, Japan, for two days. If it does not let up on Tuesday, it will likely lead to the cancellation of the quarterfinals fixture between Nepal and Sri Lanka. In that case, the Rhinos will have to bow out of the tournament.

Nepal have had a productive campaign at the Asian Games so far. They defeated Afghanistan by five wickets on Friday, while the group-stage fixture against Japan could not continue in the second innings due to incessant rain on Saturday. Nepal, who posted 149/4 in the first innings, had to settle with shared points.

It was a hard-earned place for Nepal in the quarterfinals as they had to defeat Afghanistan. But that spot, and a shot for a maiden Asian Games medal in cricket, could be lost to rain.

“You can’t control the weather—what happens outside,” Nepal coach Stuart Law told journalists in Nagoya on Monday. “The ground staff are doing everything they can, with the knowledge they have, to make sure that the ground is playable. But if it continues to rain like it has done for the last two days, it is not looking good and fortunate.”

There are no reserve days for cricket as it is in others. For instance, Nepal’s Abhishek Bastola’s match in men’s tennis got cancelled due to rain on Monday, but it has been rescheduled for Tuesday.

But Law remains optimistic.

“We have got to prepare…as we are playing Sri Lanka tomorrow,” Law added, citing that the team needed to be ready if it did not rain.

Rain led to cancellation of the two other quarterfinal fixtures—India vs Afghanistan and Pakistan vs Hong Kong—at the Korogi Athletic Park on Monday. India and Pakistan progressed to the semifinals as they were higher-ranked teams.

India are the world’s No 1 in T20Is, while Pakistan are sixth. Afghanistan and Hong Kong are 10th and 24th on the list, respectively.

Sri Lanka are the ninth ranked team in the world in T20Is, while Nepal are 14th. Bangladesh, who are ranked eighth, will also go further in the tournament if their quarterfinal match against Malaysia, who are ranked 25th, also gets cancelled on Tuesday.

“If we play really well, we know we can push any team,” Law said. “We have done that before…England in the World Cup, a game we probably should have won. Winning the whole thing [Asian Games] would have been a dream, but it is not out of possibilities for all if we play really well.”

For Law, if a team plays well on the day, they can defeat any team in T20 cricket.

Even if the rain stops before the matches on Tuesday, there is no guarantee if the ground will be fit to play. It is because Korogi Athletic Park has neither good drainage nor a large tarpaulin to cover the whole ground.

Nepal had faced Sri Lanka in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. Sri Lanka had defeated Nepal, who were then coached by former Sri Lankan international Roy Luke Dias, by two wickets. Dias coached Nepal for almost nine years.

The last time Nepal faced Sri Lanka was in the 2014 T20 World Cup in Florida. That match was also washed out by rain without a ball bowled.

But that is something Law does not want to happen on Tuesday.

“I can’t say anything. It is the rule,” Law, who has also coached Test nations, told Kantipur. “It is disappointing. Associate cricket spends forever qualifying for the main event, and if higher ranked teams get past in these kinds of situations, it is brutal.”

Law accepts that it is a shame that the ranking system is there. “But it is there for a reason because those higher-ranking teams have played a lot of cricket than countries like Nepal,” he added. “Their ranking is deserved and it is up to us to make sure that we keep climbing that ladder.”

Law also argued that if the rain doesn’t spoil the fun against Sri Lanka, it would be a great preparation for Nepal for the 2027 Asia Cup, where the cricket powerhouses—India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan—are waiting.

Nepal’s Asian Games fixture against Sri Lanka is scheduled to start at 5:45am Nepali time.

Prepared for the Oman tour

Before the Asia Cup next year, Nepal, alongside Canada, have a tour of Oman for the ICC CWC League-2 tri-series.

Nepal are scheduled to face Canada on October 11 and 17, and Oman on October 13 and 19. Nepal will then turn around for 50-over cricket from the T20 format in the Asian Games, which as per Law will not be much of a difficulty.

“Cricket is cricket,” Law added. “It really does not matter which format you play.”

Law also shared that his team was eager to reach Oman because Nepal have created many good memories there, such as the 2026 T20 World Cup Qualifiers.

Nepal are currently seventh in the eight-team League-2 with 19 losses in 32 games, including two that ended in no result. And the Rhinos seem more than ready to find their rhythm in Oman.

“The conditions are very good [in Oman],” Law said. “There should not be any rain in the middle of the result,” he added with a laugh. “We should be able to get all our prep done and when the game starts, we should be ready to go.”