Former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt was not happy with the scheduling of the Asia Cup 2023, as Pakistan will have only two days gap between Nepal and India matches in the group stages of the continental event. The Men in Green will have a short time to travel to play their second game against India in Kandy after their opening game on August 30.
A total of 13 matches will be played in the tournament with Pakistan hosting four games whereas Sri Lanka will be hosting nine games in the tournament. Pakistan is grouped with India and Nepal in Group A while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan are in Group B in a six-nation tournament.
Salman Butt lambasted the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) And PCB over the Asia Cup 2023 schedule, as they will have only two days gap to play the group games against India and Nepal, whereas Sri Lanka will get more than 4 days to play their second game of the group stage after playing their first game in home soil and also slammed PCB for not taking care about the players
“It’s a very strange schedule. Pakistan is playing their first match in Pakistan, then they will travel to Sri Lanka for the second match. On the other hand, Sri Lanka will play their first match in their home, and when they have to travel to Pakistan for the second game, they have a 4-5 days gap,”
“Pakistan, who are originally the host nation, have only got two days gap. We never cared about our players,” Salman Butt said.
India will play all their games in Sri Lanka, whereas Pakistan will travel between their home and Sri Lanka to play the tournament. All countries except India will play their games in Pakistan, as they would not travel to the neighbouring country due to political tension and security reasons between both countries.
The six-nation Asia Cup 2023, which will be played in a 50-over format will be played from August 30th to September 17th. The final will be one of a total of 13 games that will be played in the tournament to decide the winner of the mega event in Sri Lanka.
The continental would be an engaging encounter this year as teams will be fighting out hard to win the championship in Asia Cup 2023, as this tournament will act as a preparation for the Asian teams ahead of the all-important ODI World Cup later this year.