Asia Cup 2023: The much-awaited fixtures and schedule for the Asia Cup 2023 are finally out, albeit draft. Hosts Pakistan are set to play arch-rivals India in Group A game in Kandy on Saturday, September 2. The tournament will begin on August 30, a day earlier than originally scheduled with Pakistan taking on Nepal in Multan, in the only game at the venue.
As per an ESPNCricinfo report, Pakistan will host four games, one in Multan while the remaining three in Lahore as the former was added as a venue late since all four games were scheduled to take place at one venue. Three group games and one Super Fours game are scheduled to be held in the host country while the remaining 9 games will take place in Sri Lanka.
The hybrid model for the 2023 Asia Cup was approved by the Asian Cricket Council recently. India, Pakistan and Nepal are in Group A while Group B comprises Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The draft schedule report states that Pakistan will be A1 and India will be A2 irrespective of where they finish in the table while Sri Lanka will be B1 and Bangladesh will be B2. If Nepal and Afghanistan qualify from their respective groups, they will take the place of the team, who will finish third (India/Pakistan in Group A and Sri Lanka/Bangladesh in Group B)
The final is scheduled to be held in Colombo on September 17 while the Super Four match between A1 and A2 is on September 10, which means India and Pakistan could play again in Kandy one week after their first meeting if both qualify for the Super Four.
The final schedule is set to be announced by the new PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf on Wednesday, July 19 at 7:15 local time (7:45 PM IST). The report states that the final schedule could be different from the draft one, which has already undergone several changes with the tournament adapting to the hybrid model.
Latest Cricket News
