Asia Cup 2023
The Asia Cup schedule was eventually made public on Wednesday after months of dispute between the cricket bodies of India and Pakistan. Despite losing the right to host, Pakistan will only host four of the 13 games in this biannual edition. In addition to Sri Lanka, there are four other teams playing in this ODI match: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal.
The Asia Cup will begin on August 30
On August 30, Nepal and Pakistan will play in Multan to kick off the tournament. Three additional games will be played in Lahore, one of which is probably a Pakistan Super 4 match on September 6. All other games, including the championship game on September 17, will take place in Sri Lanka, with three taking place in Kandy and six in Colombo.
India vs. Pakistan on September 2
The highly anticipated India-Pakistan encounter is set for September 2 in Kandy, and the anticipated rematch in the Super 4 round is set for September 10 in Colombo.
I am happy to announce the schedule for the highly anticipated Men's ODI #AsiaCup2023, a symbol of unity and togetherness binding diverse nations together! Let's join hands in the celebration of cricketing excellence and cherish the bonds that connect us all. @ACCMedia1 pic.twitter.com/9uPgx6intP
— Jay Shah (@JayShah) July 19, 2023
India will play Pakistan twice in the Asia Cup
The India-Pakistan matchup is crucial to the competition’s financial success because the format was devised specifically for them to face off at least twice; both teams were drawn into the same group as the Associate side (Nepal qualified). In order to fulfill India’s request to play only at neutral venues, Pakistan will stay at A1 and India at A2, regardless of where they place in the group stage.
A hybrid form of Cricket
In order to prevent four matches from being played outside of the country, PCB campaigned for the tournament to be played at least in a hybrid format. In Pakistani cricket circles, it is being questioned whether this is in any way a victory for the PCB. Since the BCCI made it plain in October of last year that it would not play in Pakistan, the PCB has had three regime changes, each of which promoted a somewhat different compromise from the previous one.
The conflict between India and Pakistan has dominated the Asia Cup’s past. The tournament has only been played once each in India and Pakistan out of the 15 editions that have been hosted since it started in 1984. The only time Pakistan hosted the Asia Cup was in 2008. Additionally, it was the final game there for the Indian cricket team.
In a tweet, BCCI secretary and head of the Asian Cricket Council Jay Shah referred to the Asia Cup as “a symbol of unity and togetherness binding diverse nations together.”
