rai played for nepal at the u-14, u-16 and u-19 youth levels. after being routinely called up for the senior squad since 2014 rai finally made his senior national team debut on 31 august 2015 in a friendly against india. bishal rai scored a goal for in a 4-1 win against maldives in the bangabandhu gold cup on 19 january 2016.