Asia Cup 2023: Format, schedule, squads, venues, and more
The 16th edition of Asia Cup (2023) will commence on August 30, with Sri Lanka taking on Nepal in the opener. Sri Lanka and Pakistan will jointly host the 50-over tournament in a hybrid model between August 30 and September 17. The continental tournament features a total of six teams that will battle it out in 13 matches. Here's all you need to know.
A look at the two groups
Six teams - India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Nepal - will participate in a total of 13 ODIs throughout the tournament. The tourney will have two groups, with two teams from each of these qualifying for the Super Four stage. Group A includes India, Pakistan, and Nepal, while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan have been drawn into Group B.
India-Pakistan clash scheduled on September 2
Why a hybrid model?
The 50-over Asia Cup was scheduled to take place entirely in Pakistan. However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) were in a standoff regarding the host country due to political tensions. The BCCI had made it clear that India will not travel to Pakistan. Therefore, nine of the 13 matches were moved to Sri Lanka.
SL enter as defending champions; India won in 2018
Sri Lanka will enter the 2023 Asia Cup as the defending champions. They won the T20I edition last year after beating Pakistan in a thrilling final. Notably, India failed to get past the group stage. The 50-over Asia Cup was last played in 2018 when India lifted the trophy under Rohit Sharma after defeating Bangladesh in the final.
Which team has won the most titles?
The Asia Cup made its debut in 1984 in the ODI format. However, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has switched between the ODI and T20I formats of late. India are the most successful side in the Asia Cup in terms of titles (Seven: 1984, 1988, 1990/91, 1995, 2010, 2016, and 2018). SL have clinched six titles (1986, 1997, 2004, 2008, 2014, and 2022).
Here's how Nepal qualified for Asia Cup 2023
Nepal will play the Asia Cup for the first time. They qualified for the tournament by winning the inaugural ACC Men's Premier Cup 2023. They defeated the United Arab Emirates in the final. Earlier this year, Nepal also reached the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023. They won 11 of their last 12 matches in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2.
Details about venues, timings, and streaming
Four venues in Pakistan and Sri Lanka will host the 2023 Asia Cup - Multan Cricket Stadium (Multan), Gaddafi Stadium (Lahore), Pallekele International Cricket Stadium (Kandy), and R Premadasa Stadium (Colombo). Each of the 13 matches will begin at 3:00pm IST. The matches will be telecast live on the Star Sports Network and live-streamed on the Disney+Hotstar app (free).
India's squad for Asia Cup
India's squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, and Sanju Samson (traveling reserve).
Pakistan's squad for Asia Cup
Pakistan's squad: Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Haris, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Saud Shakeel, and Tayyab Tahir (traveling reserve).
Bangladesh's squad for Asia Cup
Bangladesh's squad: Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain Dhrubo, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Nasum Ahmed, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Naim Sheikh, Shamim Hossain, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, and Tanzim Hasan Sakib.
Afghanistan's squad for Asia Cup
Afghanistan's squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Rashid Khan, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Abdul Rahman, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Suliman Safi, and Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Nepal's squad for Asia Cup
Nepal's squad: Rohit Paudel (captain), Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Bhim Sharki, Kushal Malla, Aarif Sheikh, Dipendra Singh Airee, Gulshan Jha, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Pratish GC, Mousom Dhakal, Sundeep Jora, Kishore Mahato, and Arjun Saud.
Sri Lanka's squad for Asia Cup
Sri Lanka's squad: Dasun Shanaka (captain), Pathum Nissanaka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Janith Perera, Kusal Mendis (vice-captain), Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Matheesha Pathirana, Kasun Rajitha, Dushan Hemantha, Binura Fernando, and Pramod Madushan.
