Asia Cup 2023

The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) on July 20, announced the schedule of the much-awaited Asia Cup 2023. The competition will begin on August 30 with Pakistan locking horns with Nepal in the opening match and the summit clash is set to be played on September 17.

It was after much deliberation and discussion that the ACC and the boards of the participating teams decided on accepting the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) hybrid model. With this, the entirety of the tournament will be jointly hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The hybrid model allows Pakistan to host four fixtures across two venues whereas Sri Lanka will host the remainder of the matches.

The ACC event will have a fifty-overs format keeping in mind the 2023 ODI World Cup, which is slated to be played in October-November. The six-team event will see India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Pakistan. The iconic clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan will be played on September 2 in Kandy, Sri Lanka.

While Pakistan, India, and Nepal are in Group A, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka form Group B. Following the conclusion of the group stages, the top two teams will progress to the Super Fours followed by the summit clash. The final of the Asia Cup 2023 will be played in Colombo, Sri Lanka. As per the Asia Cup Winners List, the Lankan Lions are the most recent winners of the ACC event, winning the title in 2022, played in a 20-overs format.