The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) on Thursday announced that the Asia Cup 2023 is scheduled to take from August 31 to September 17. The tournament will feature India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Nepal with the teams competing in a total of 13 ODI matches. The tournament will be held in a hybrid model where Pakistan will host four matches and the remaining nine matches will be played in Sri Lanka, a release from the ACC confirmed.
We look forward to welcoming fans from around the world to witness this celebration of cricket at its finest, the ACC said in the statement. The 2023 edition of the tournament will have two groups with the two top teams moving to the Super Four stage. The top two teams from the Super Four stage will then face off in the final.
India, Pakistan, and Nepal have been bracketed into one group while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan form the other. Four matches in Pakistan will be played in the city of Lahore while the matches in Sri Lanka will be held in Pallekele and Kandy. There was uncertainty over Pakistan hosting any matches but the new model will allow them to host Asia Cup games after 15 years.
Before meeting each other in the ICC World Cup 2023, arch-rivals India and Pakistan will resume their epic rivalry in the upcoming Asia Cup tournament. With the schedule for the Asia Cup and its venues now final, the ICC is likely to announce the ODI World Cup schedule soon.
