Malaysia host Hong Kong as Asia Qualifier B opens the road to the 2028 T20 World Cup

Hong Kong start against the hosts at the Selangor Turf Club on Thursday as the second of Malaysia's two sub-regional qualifiers gets under way

Malaysia and Hong Kong meet in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday in the third match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Sub Regional Asia Qualifier B, the opening day of a six-team tournament that runs until 14 October.

The match begins at 2pm local time, 11.30am IST, at the Selangor Turf Club. It is one of three fixtures on the first day, with China playing the Maldives at the Bayuemas Oval and Saudi Arabia meeting Singapore at the UKM-YSD Cricket Oval.

Qualifier A, the companion event, has been running at the same grounds since 5 October. Between them the two tournaments have brought 13 teams to Kuala Lumpur for 36 matches over ten days.

Three places on offer

Both qualifiers are single round robins in which every side plays each of the others once. Qualifier B's six teams will play 15 matches between them.

The ICC said when it confirmed the double-header that the top three teams from each qualifier will progress to the next stage of the Asia qualification pathway in 2027, six places in all.

That pathway leads to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2028. "We are honoured to host these important events on the road to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2028," said Mahinda Vallipuram, president of the Malaysian Cricket Association. "They provide another opportunity to showcase the ambition, talent and continued development of cricket across Asia."

Murtaza leads the Hong Kong squad

Hong Kong named a 14-man squad on 2 October with Yasim Murtaza as captain and Babar Hayat as his deputy.

It is an experienced group. Anshuman Rath, Kinchit Shah, Ehsan Khan, Aizaz Khan and Nasrulla Rana are all in it, with Zeeshan Ali and Shahid Wasif the two wicketkeepers and Ayush Shukla, Ateeq Iqbal, Mohammad Ghazanfar, Hassan Khan Mohammad and Reyansh Sharma completing the party.

Murtaza, Hayat and Rath were all part of the Hong Kong side that played the previous Asia sub-regional qualifier in Malaysia two years ago, when Nizakat Khan was captain.

The hosts have been here before

Malaysia won that tournament. Hosting the 2024 Asia Sub-regional Qualifier A from 30 August to 9 September, they finished above Kuwait at the top of a seven-team table.

Syed Aziz, who captained that side, was the tournament's leading scorer with 216 runs.

Malaysia and Kuwait went on to the 2025 Asia-EAP Regional Final in Oman last October, the stage where the cycle ended for them. Nepal beat Oman in that tournament, and Nepal, Oman and the United Arab Emirates took the three places on offer at this year's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

Hong Kong start the cycle again

Hong Kong were in the same seven-team field in Malaysia in 2024 and did not come through it, with only the top two advancing.

This week is where their next attempt begins, and it begins against the side that topped that table. A win on the opening day would be worth more than two points in a group where three of six go forward and net run rate is likely to matter.

Three grounds, five playing days

Qualifier B is played on 8, 9, 11, 12 and 14 October, with three matches on each of those days spread across the Selangor Turf Club, the Bayuemas Oval in Pandamaran and the UKM-YSD Cricket Oval in Bangi.

The ICC is streaming every match of both qualifiers live on ICC.tv, and on FanCode in India.

Qualifier A, which began on 5 October, finishes on the same day as Qualifier B, with the two sets of qualifiers meeting again at the regional stage in 2027.

Malaysia and Hong Kong begin at 2pm local time on Thursday, the winner taking the first advantage in a group that sends half its teams through.

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