Asian Cricket Council releases Asia Cup 2023 schedule

The Asia Cup 2023 schedule was finally made public by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). The drama between India and Pakistan over the conduct of the continental competition is finally coming to an end. The final schedule reveals that the tournament will be co-hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka in a hybrid model as reported earlier. Defending champions Sri Lanka, however, will not be in action on the opening day.

The tournament kicks off in Multan with Pakistan and Nepal clashing in the opening game. A total of 13 ODIs will be played in the multilateral series. There will be four matches happening in Pakistan, three of which will be played in Lahore whereas just one will be played in Multan. The final game in Lahore will be a Super 4 encounter. Following this, the rest of the tournament will take place entirely in Sri Lanka.

Colombo will be hosting the final of Asia Cup 2023

Talking of the groups, the teams are grouped into two groups. Group A features India, Pakistan, and Nepal. Therefore, fans will be treated to another mouth-watering encounter between India and Pakistan, the arch-rivals. The headline clash is scheduled for September 2 and will take place in Kandy, Sri Lanka.

The schedule also mentions that regardless of how the teams finish in the group, Pakistan will continue to be A1 and India will continue to be A2. For group B, Sri Lanka will be B1 and Bangladesh will be B2. In case any of these teams fail to qualify Nepal and Afghanistan will take up their place in accordance to the groups they are in.

This has been done essentially to accommodate team India’s objection to travel to Pakistan. It is now assured that upon qualification India’s knockout games will be held in Sri Lanka. Similarly, if Pakistan qualifies, they will participate in the only Super 4 game scheduled in Lahore. The competition begins on August 30 and will end with the final in Colombo. Here's the full schedule of the Asia Cup 2023:

Asia Cup 2023 schedule: