The Dechephu Lhakhang (temple) in Thimphu is the spiritual home of Bhutan Cricket and players visit before every tournament. “We do not pray for victory”, said national captain Damber Singh Gurung, “we pray for each other to give our best and to emerge complete from the competition.”[7]
History
Bhutan Cricket Council Board became an affiliate member of the ICC in 2001. They played their first internationals in 2003 in a tri-nation series against Maldives and Nepal, hosted by the latter.[8] They made their ACC Trophy debut at the 2004 tournament, where they made the quarter-finals. Their first international victory came against Iran.
They again competed at the ACC Trophy in 2006 but were eliminated in the first round after a series of heavy defeats. Their only win came against newcomers Myanmar.
Following the 2006 ACC Trophy, the tournament was split into two divisions: Elite and Challenge. Bhutan took part in the 2009 ACC Trophy Challenge, where they were runners up. This result qualified them for the next ACC Trophy Elite as well as Division Eight of the World Cricket League.
2018-Present
In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant full Twenty20 International (T20I) status to all its members. Therefore, all Twenty20 matches played between Bhutan and other ICC members after 1 January 2019 have had the T20I status.[9]
Bhutan played their first T20I on 5 December 2019, against Nepal, during the 2019 South Asian Games. Nepal won that match by 141 runs.