The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) President Jay Shah announced the schedule for the Asia Cup 2023 including the venues and fixtures list.
After a long wait for the schedule, finally, the day has come when cricket fans will get a sigh of relief after getting to know the dates of the Asia Cup 2023. The schedule has been delayed due to several reasons but one of the main is, the Chair of the Pakistan Cricket Board Zaka Ashraf wanted some more matches to be hosted in Pakistan which was already very unlikely to happen.
For the first time, this year’s edition of the Asia Cup will be played in a hybrid manner. This will be the 16th edition of the tournament and will be held in the ODI format.
Asia Cup 2023 Teams:
Six Teams will be participating in this tournament. Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Nepal.
Asia Cup 2023 Format:
The tournament will feature two groups. These six teams are divided into two groups A and B. Group A will feature India, Pakistan, and Nepal whereas Group B will feature Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka. From each group, two teams will qualify for the Super 4 stage. The top two teams from the Super Fours will then progress into the final. A total of 13 ODIs will be played.
Asia Cup 2023 Dates:
The tournament will be starting from August 31 and will go up to September 17.
Asia Cup 2023: Venues
There has been a lot of discussion and debates regarding the hosting venues. Earlier Pakistan was the host but India had already refused to send their Team to play in the Asia Cup in Pakistan. Meanwhile, Najam Sethi, former chairman of PCB suggested the hybrid model to which the BCCI agreed. Considering the viewpoints of Other Boards, everyone agreed to the hybrid model. If this shouldn’t have been considered then there was very less possibility of this year’s Asia Cup happening.
The tournament will now be played in a hybrid model. Nine matches will be played in Sri Lanka, while four will be held in Pakistan.
Who are the defending champions of the Asia Cup?
Sri Lanka are the defending champions heading into the Asia Cup. They won the Asia Cup 2022 in Dubai, defeating Pakistan in the final.
Asia Cup 2023 schedule: Full Fixtures list
Group A – Pakistan (A1), India (A2), and Nepal (Nepal will take the position of the side, which fails to progress to the Super-4 stage)
Group B – Sri Lanka (B1), Bangladesh (B2), and Afghanistan (Afghanistan will take the position of the side, which fails to progress to the Super-4 stage)
August 30: Pakistan vs Nepal in Multan
August 31: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka in Kandy
September 2: Pakistan vs India in Kandy
September 3: Bangladesh vs Afghanistan in Lahore
September 4: India vs Nepal in Kandy
September 5: Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka in Lahore
September 6: Pakistan/Afghanistan vs Bangladesh/Afghanistan in Lahore (Super 4)
September 9: Sri Lanka/Afghanistan vs Bangladesh/Afghanistan in Colombo (Super 4)
September 10: India/Nepal vs Pakistan/Nepal in Colombo (Super 4)
September 12: India/Nepal vs Sri Lanka/Afghanistan in Colombo (Super 4)
September 15: India/Nepal vs Bangladesh/Afghanistan in Colombo (Super 4)
September 17: FINAL, Colombo
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