The PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) has announced the Asia Cup 2023 schedule on Wednesday (July 19). Pakistan and Nepal to kick start the tournament in Multan. The arch-rivals India and Pakistan will lock horns on September 02 in Pallekele (Kandy). Today, we will see all the details of Asia Cup 2023, their dates, venues, etc.
The PCB’s managing committee Chairman Zaka Ashraf made that announcement after a meeting with Advisor to Chief Minister Punjab Wahab Riaz, former captains Waqar Younis, Mohammad Hafeez, Abdur Rehman, and officials of the PCB. He showed his excitement as well as Pakistan got the approval from ACC (Asian Cricket Council) regarding their Hybrid model approach.
ACC approved the hybrid model
As we all know, due to terrorism, political tensions, etc, the BCCI is not allowing to send Team India to play in Pakistan. The Indian government won’t allow BCCI to send Team India to Pakistan. So BCCI denied to play the whole tournament in Pakistan. Some other Asian countries also join BCCI and then the former PCB Chairman, Najam Sethi suggests the hybrid model for the Asia Cup 2023. In this model, Pakistan will host 4 games along with one game of Super 4s and the rest of the 9 games will held in Sri Lanka.
At first, BCCI also denied this model but after some consideration, the ACC approved this model and now Pakistan will host 4 games in the Asia Cup 2023. The major part of the tournament will be played in Sri Lanka, but Pakistan will still have the hosting rights.
Good for Pakistan Cricket Fans
This is a good sign for Pakistan cricket and their fans. They will get to see their team playing on home ground in the multi-nation tournament after a long time. Also, the message will be sent to the world that Pakistan can host the tournament as well. They have to host the Champions Trophy in 2025. Well, this will be decided later on whether will Pakistan host the CT 2025 or not, but they have the Asia Cup 2023 to host right now.
Groups in the Asia Cup 2023
The Asia Cup 2023 has two groups consisting of 3 teams each. Group A has India, Pakistan, and Nepal while Group B has Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.
Venues for the tournament
There are four different venues for the Asia Cup 2023 across two countries (Pakistan and Sri Lanka). Multan will host the tournament opener and the remaining 3 Pakistan leg games will be played in Lahore (Including one game of Super 4s).
Sri Lanka will host the remaining 9 games across Pallekele and Colombo. Pallekele will host 3 games of the group stages. And Colombo will host the last 6 games of the tournament (5 Super 4s and a final).
India-Pakistan to be played on September 02
The arch-rivals India vs Pakistan will take on each other on September 02 at Pallekele. We might see 3 potential India vs Pakistan games in the Asia Cup 2023.
Only if Nepal wins against India and/or Pakistan, which is highly unlikely, then we might see a different scenario. You never know, maybe Nepal comes out well in one of the games, but it is highly unlikely as it will be very difficult for Nepal to beat big teams like India and Pakistan.
We will see India and Pakistan in Super 4s. And then if both the teams reach the final, it will be round 3 of India vs Pakistan in Asia Cup 2023. Till now, India has won 9 games in the Asia Cup history against Pakistan. Pakistan has won 6 games against India in the Asia Cups and one game ended with no result. Their last clash in the Asia Cup was in 2022 (T20I Format), when Pakistan won the game by chasing a target of 182.
Match timings and Finals details
The final of the tournament will be played in Colombo on September 17. All the Pakistan leg games will start at 3:30 PM Local Time. Sri Lanka leg games will start at 2:00 PM Local Time. All the matches will be day-night affairs.
Asia Cup 2023 Schedule:-
Group Stages
(1) August 30, Pakistan vs Nepal, Multan, 3:30 PM
(2) August 31, Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka, Pallekele, 2:00 PM
(3) September 2, Pakistan vs India, Pallekele, 2:00 PM
(4) September 3, Bangladesh vs Afghanistan, Lahore, 3:30 PM
(5) September 4, India vs Nepal, Pallekele, 2:00 PM
(6) September 5, Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka, Lahore, 3:30 PM
Super 4s
(7) September 6, A1 vs B2, Lahore, 3:30 PM
(8) September 9, B1 vs B2, Colombo, 2:00 PM
(9) September 10, A1 vs A2, Colombo, 2:00 PM
(10) September 12, A2 vs B1, Colombo, 2:00 PM
(11) September 14, A1 vs B1, Colombo, 2:00 PM
(12) September 15, A2 vs B2, Colombo, 2:00 PM
Final
(13) September 17, Super 4s 1 vs Super 4s 2, Colombo, 2:00 PM
Conclusion
So these are all the details regarding the Asia Cup 2023. What do you think? Who will win the title this time? Comment your predictions below. Thank you for reading the article. Keep following us for the latest updates.
