Asia Cup 2023: Venue, Host Country, Time Table And Schedule, Points Table, Teams, Groups, Squads And Other Details: While the cricket fraternity is currently busy with the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the focus will soon shift to the forthcoming edition of the Asia Cup. Asia Cup is scheduled to be played in the latter half of this year just before the 2023 ICC World Cup.
The tournament is the only continental championship in cricket and is played in both the white-ball formats – T20 and ODI. The format of the tournament depends on the upcoming ICC global event. Asia Cup began in 1984 and was originally played in the ODI format. The tournament was played in the T20 format for the first time in 2016.
So far, 13 editions of Asia Cup have been played in the ODI format while 2 editions have been played in the T20 format. Team India are the most successful teams in the history of the competition, having won it 7 times followed by Sri Lanka who have won it 6 times. Two-time champions Pakistan are the only other side after India and Pakistan to win the competition.
As the cricketing world waits for Asia Cup to begin, we are taking a look at all the details of the competition.
Asia Cup 2023: Venue:
Pakistan are the Asia Cup hosts this year. However, there are huge doubts over Pakistan Cricket Board getting the green light from the Asian Cricket Council to host the competition in their country due to India’s stand.
The BCCI has made it clear that Team India won’t visit Pakistan for the tournament due to the poor bilateral relations between the two countries. In 2018 when India had the hosting rights for the competition, it was shifted to UAE due to Pakistan’s reluctance. And something similar could happen with the upcoming competition too.
There are also reports suggesting that a hybrid model could be in place where Pakistan get the permission to host the tournament but India would play their games at a neutral venue.
Asia Cup Teams 2023:
The upcoming edition of the Asia Cup will see a total of six nations participating in it and fighting it out for the continental supremacy. The five Test playing nations of the continent will be joined by the winner of the inaugural edition of the ACC Men’s Premier Cup.
The teams that will participate in the tournament are – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and the winner of the ACC Men’s Premier Cup – Nepal.
| Asia Cup Teams |
| Afghanistan |
| Bangladesh |
| India |
| Pakistan |
| Sri Lanka |
| Nepal |
Asia Cup 2023 squads:
The squads for the upcoming Asia Cup are yet to be announced. So, here are the predicted squads:
India squad:
Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Jaydev Unadkat, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shardul Thakur, Ishan Kishan, Washington Sundar, Umran Malik
Pakistan squad:
Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Haris Sohail, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shan Masood, Agha Salman, Usama Mir, Ihsanullah
Sri Lanka squad:
Pathum Nissanka, Nuwanidu Fernando, Kusal Mendis(w), Angelo Mathews, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka(c), Dhananjaya de Silva, Chamika Karunaratne, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Pramod Madushan, Sahan Arachchige, Dunith Wellalage, Dilshan Madushanka, Matheesha Pathirana, Maheesh Theekshana
Bangladesh squad:
Tamim Iqbal(c), Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Yasir Ali, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mustafizur Rahman, Rony Talukdar
Afghanistan squad:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Yamin Ahmadzai, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Shahidullah Kamal, Zia-ur-Rehman, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Riaz Hassan, Noor Ahmad
Nepal Squad:
Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh(w), Bhim Sharki, Rohit Paudel(c), Kushal Malla, Aarif Sheikh, Dipendra Singh Airee, Sandeep Lamichhane, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Lalit Rajbanshi, Gyanendra Malla, Pratis GC, Gulsan Jha
(The squads will be updated as soon as they are announced)
Asia Cup 2023: Format and groups:
Talking about the format, the six teams will be divided into two groups of three teams. After the league stage, the top two teams will participate from each group for the Super 4s. The top two teams will then make it to the final. A total of 13 matches will be played, including six league matches, six Super 4 matches, and a final.
Group A consists of Pakistan, India and Nepal while Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan have been clubbed together in Group B.
Asia Cup 2023 Points Table And Groups:
Group A:
| Pos | Team | Played | Won | Lost | Tied | No Result | Bonus Point | Points | NRR |
| 1 | Pakistan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2 | India | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 3 | Nepal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Group B:
| Pos | Team | Played | Won | Lost | Tied | No Result | Bonus Point | Points | NRR |
| 1 | Afghanistan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2 | Bangladesh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 3 | Sri Lanka | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Asia Cup 2023: Schedule and dates:
Asia Cup schedule or Asia CupTime Table is yet to be announced by the ACC. However, reliable media reports have suggested that the competition is likely to be played from September 2 to 16. So here is a tentative Asia Cup time table or Asia Cup schedule.
Here is the tentative schedule:
| Date | Match |
| 2 September | India vs Pakistan |
| 3 September | Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan |
| 4 September | Bangladesh vs Afghanistan |
| 5 September | India vs Nepal |
| 7 September | Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh |
| 8 September | Pakistan vs Nepal |
| 9 September | B1 vs B2 |
| 10 September | A1 vs A2 |
| 11 September | A1 vs B1 |
| 12 September | A2 vs B2 |
| 13 September | A1 vs B2 |
| 14 September | B1 vs A2 |
| 16 September | Final |
(The schedule will be updated as soon as it is announced. For the time being, we have prepared a tentative schedule)
Asia Cup 2023: FAQs
When Asia Cup will start in 2023?
Asia Cup 2023 is likely to start in September 2023.
Who will host Asia Cup 2023?
Pakistan have the hosting rights for Asia Cup this year.
Will Nepal play Asia Cup 2023?
Yes, Nepal will be playing Asia Cup this year first time after winning the inaugural ACC’s Premier League tournament. The champion of the ACC’s Premier League tournament will be the 6th team in Asia Cup 2023.