Asia Cup 2022 is just over a month away. The upcoming tournament is the fifteenth edition of the continental championship. The tournament has not been held since 2018 due to the pandemic.
The 2018 edition took place in the UAE when India beat Bangladesh in the final to lift the title. It was the third time that the Asia Cup was held in the UAE.
The tournament was originally scheduled to be held in India. However, the venue had to be shifted to UAE from India due to the political tension between the latter and fellow participants Pakistan.
There is excitement all around as Asia Cup is making a much-awaited return after a long gap of 4 years. So before Asia Cup 2022 gets underway, we are taking a look at its venue, full schedule, format, team list, squads and groups.
ACC Asia Cup overview:
The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Asia Cup is a tournament that is played in both the white-ball formats from 2016. Asia Cup is the only continental championship in cricket as the winner of this tournament becomes the champions of Asia.
The tournament was established in 1983 when the ACC was founded. The first-ever edition of the Asia Cup was held in 1984 in the UAE. In 2015, it was announced that the Asia Cup from 2016 would be played on a rotation basis between ODI and T20I formats.
The format would depend on the format of upcoming ICC world events. As a result, the 2016 event was the first event played in the T20I format and served as a preparatory tournament ahead of the 2016 T20 World Cup. Two years later in 2018, it was played in the ODI tournament ahead of the 2019 50-over World Cup.
Asia Cup – Past winners, most successful teams:
India are the most successful team in the history of Asia Cup. They have won the tournament seven times. They are followed by Sri Lanka who have won the title five times.
Apart from India and Sri Lanka, Pakistan (2) are the only other team who have won the Asia Cup. Sri Lanka has played the most Asia Cups (14) followed by India, Pakistan and Bangladesh who have played 13 each.
Asia Cup past winners:
| Year | Winner | Runners-up |
| 1984 | India | Sri Lanka |
| 1986 | Sri Lanka | Pakistan |
| 1988 | India | Sri Lanka |
| 1990/91 | India | Sri Lanka |
| 1995 | India | Sri Lanka |
| 1997 | Sri Lanka | India |
| 2000 | Pakistan | Sri Lanka |
| 2004 | Sri Lanka | India |
| 2008 | Sri Lanka | India |
| 2010 | India | Sri Lanka |
| 2012 | Pakistan | Bangladesh |
| 2014 | Sri Lanka | Pakistan |
| 2016 | India | Bangladesh |
| 2018 | India | Bangladesh |
Asia Cup 2022 venue:
Asia Cup 2022 is scheduled to be held in the UAE instead of Sri Lanka. The tournament was originally scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka but the venue had to be shifted due to the economical and political unrest in the country.
Earlier this month, Sri Lanka Cricket had expressed its willingness to host the tournament after successfully hosting the men’s series against Australia and the women’s series against India.
However, things took an unfortunate turn this week when thousands of protestors stormed the Presidential Palace and the Prime Minister’s residence was set on fire. Interestingly, while confirming the venue on July 21, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly cited rain as the reason behind the change of venue.
“Asia Cup will be in UAE, as it is the only place where there won’t be rains,” Ganguly told reporters after the BCCI’s Apex Council meeting.
Asia Cup 2022 full schedule:
The upcoming edition of the Asia Cup is scheduled to take place from August 27 to September 11.
(*The full schedule for the tournament is yet to be announced by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). It is likely to be announced by the end of this month. The schedule will be updated as soon as it is released).
Asia Cup 2022 – India vs Pakistan Match:
There is absolutely no doubt that the clash between India and Pakistan will be one of the biggest if not the biggest match of this year’s Asia Cup. Both the teams will meet in the tournament for the first time since last year’s T20 World Cup.
While the schedule is not out yet, reports from Sri Lankan media has stated that the India vs Pakistan match in Asia Cup 2022 is scheduled to take place on August 28, a day after the main event begins.
SLC is going ahead with Asia Cup after getting the green light from India. They are drawn up with Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The high profile India versus Pakistan scheduled on the 28th August. Qualifiers will start on 21 Aug. Tournament proper from 27 Aug to 11 Sep. Exciting.?
— Rex Clementine (@RexClementine) July 6, 2022
Asia Cup 2022 format:
Asia Cup 2022 will be played in the T20 format and will give the teams an opportunity to prepare for this year’s T20 World Cup in Australia. The T20 World Cup is scheduled to start in October.
Asia Cup was first held in the T20I format in 2016 just before that year’s T20I World Cup. Later in 2018, it was played in the 50-over format. The format of the Asia Cup is decided by the marquee ICC event that follows it.
Asia Cup 2022 team list:
This year’s Asia Cup will see 6 teams fighting it out for the continental supremacy. Five Test playing nations from the continent – India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Afghanistan – have qualified for the tournament directly.
The remaining one spot will be decided by a qualifying event. UAE, Kuwait, Hong Kong and Singapore will fight it out in the qualifiers for a place in the main event. The qualifiers are set to begin from August 20.
All the four teams have made it to the last qualifying round after progressing through the regional qualifiers. UAE and Kuwait qualified for the event after finishing first and second in the ACC Western region event in 2020 while Singapore and Hong Kong did the same from the eastern region.
| Asia Cup 2022 Teams |
| India |
| Pakistan |
| Sri Lanka |
| Afghanistan |
| Bangladesh |
| Qualifying team |
Asia Cup 2022 squads (Predicted squads):
| India squad |
| Rohit Sharma (c) |
| Deepak Hooda |
| Virat Kohli |
| Ishan Kishan |
| Shreyas Iyer |
| Rishabh Pant (WK) |
| Hardik Pandya |
| Suryakumar Yadav |
| Dinesh Karthik |
| Mohammed Shami |
| Yuzvendra Chahal |
| Kuldeep Yadav |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar |
| Harshal Patel |
| Jasprit Bumrah |
| Pakistan squad |
| Babar Azam (C) |
| Shadab Khan |
| Mohammad Rizwan |
| Asif Ali |
| Fakhar Zaman |
| Haider Ali |
| Haris Rauf |
| Iftikhar Ahmed |
| Khushdil Shah |
| Mohammad Nawaz |
| Mohammad Wasim Jnr |
| Shaheen Shah Afridi |
| Shahnawaz Dahani |
| Usman Qadir |
| Hasan Ali |
| Bangladesh squad |
| Mahmudullah (C) |
| Munim Shahriar |
| Liton Das |
| Anamul Haque Bijoy |
| Shakib Al Hasan |
| Afif Hossain |
| Mushfiqur Rahim |
| Nurul Hasan Sohan |
| Yasir Ali |
| Mahedi Hasan |
| Mustafizur Rahman |
| Shoriful Islam |
| Shohidul Islam |
| Nasum Ahmed |
| Mohammad Saifuddin |
| Afghanistan squad |
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk) |
| Hazratullah Zazai |
| Usman Ghani |
| Darwish Rasooli |
| Najibullah Zadran |
| Mohammad Nabi (c) |
| Azmatullah Omarzai |
| Rashid Khan |
| Karim Janat |
| Fazalhaq Farooqi |
| Nijat Masood |
| Ihsanullah Janat |
| Fareed Ahmad Malik |
| Noor Ahmad |
| Sharafuddin Ashraf |
| Sri Lanka squad |
| Dasun Shanaka (C) |
| Pathum Nissanka |
| Danushka Gunathilaka |
| Kusal Mendis |
| Charith Asalanka |
| Bhanuka Rajapaksa |
| Nuwanidu Fernando |
| Lahiru Madushanka |
| Wanindu Hasaranga |
| Chamika Karunaratne |
| Dushmantha Chameera |
| Kasun Rajitha |
| Nuwan Thushara |
| Matheesha Pathirana |
| Maheesh Theekshana |
(*The squads of all the teams are yet to be announced for the competition and thus we have put the predicted squads here. The squads will be updated as soon as they are announced)
Asia Cup 2022 groups:
The groups for Asia Cup 2022 will be known when the ACC announces the schedule. The format, however, is likely to be similar to the one that was there in 2018.
In 2018 too, six teams had participated and they were divided into two groups of three teams each. Group A consisted of India, Pakistan and Hong Kong while Group B had Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
As far as the format is concerned, each team played the other in the same group once. The top two teams from each group then qualified qualify for the second stage, called the Super Four. The four teams in that stage played each other once before the top two teams qualified for the final.
As per media reports from Sri Lanka, the hosts are drawn up with Bangladesh and Afghanistan. It means, India and Pakistan are in the other group along with a qualifying team.
| Group 1 | Group 2 |
| Sri Lanka | India |
| Afghanistan | Pakistan |
| Bangladesh | Qualifying team |
Asia Cup 2022 – Points Table:
| Teams | Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | Points |
| Sri Lanka | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Afghanistan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bangladesh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| India | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pakistan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Qualifying team | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
(*The points table will be updated at the appropriate time)
Asia Cup 2022 – FAQs:
Has the Asia Cup 2022 Schedule been released by ACC?
While the dates for the tournament’s start and end is known, the full schedule is yet to be out. Asia Cup 2022 will be held from August 27 to September 11.
When will be the Asia Cup 2022 played?
Asia Cup 2022 will be played from August 27 to September 11.
How many Teams are participating in Asia Cup 2022?
A total of six teams – Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and a qualifying team – will play in Asia Cup 2022.
Which teams will play in Asia Cup 2022?
Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and the winner of the qualifying tournament will participate in Asia Cup 2022.
When was the last Asia Cup Played?
The last edition of the Asia Cup was held in 2018 where India beat Bangladesh in the final to lift the trophy. Later in 2020, the tournament had to be postponed due to Covid-19.
How many times did India win the Asia Cup Tournament?
India have won the Asia Cup 7 times.
When will India vs Pakistan match be played in Asia Cup 2022?
As stated earlier, India and Pakistan are scheduled to lock horns on August 28 and could meet again in the later stages of the competition.
Which country will host the Asia Cup 2022?
Asia Cup 2022 is scheduled to be played in Sri Lanka. However, the tournament could be shifted out of the country due to the political unrest.
When did the Asia Cup start?
The Asia Cup was started in the year 1984.
Which team is the most successful team in Asia Cup?
India are the most successful team in the history of the Asia Cup, having won it 7 times. They are followed by Sri Lanka (5) and Pakistan (2). Bangladesh, on the other hand, have been runners-up on three occasions.