The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) on Thursday, accepted the hybrid model by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and confirmed the venues and schedule of the Asia Cup 2023.
“We are delighted to announce that the Asia Cup 2023 will be held from 31st August to 17th September 2023 and will see the elite teams from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Nepal, compete in a total of 13 exciting ODI matches,” the ACC said in a statement.
The multi-national tournament will be hosted in a hybrid model with four matches being held in Pakistan, and the remaining nine matches being played in Sri Lanka despite massive opposition by the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI).
The upcoming edition of the Asia Cup features six teams, divided into two groups, the top two teams from each group will then qualify for the Super 4s.
Hosts Pakistan are placed in the same group as arch-rivals India and Nepal while the other group includes defending champions and joint-host Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
The Asia Cup 2023 will be played in the ODI format and will serve as an opportunity for the Asian teams to bolster their preparations for the upcoming ICC Men’s World Cup.
This year’s Asia Cup was originally scheduled to be hosted by Pakistan. However, the BCCI refused to send their team to Pakistan for the continental event on political grounds.
“Neutral venue for Asia Cup is not unprecedented and we have decided that we will not travel to Pakistan,” BCCI Secretary Jay Shah stated.
“I have decided that we will play at a neutral venue,” he maintained.
The BCCI then made several efforts to take the hosting rights from Pakistan and to hold Asia Cup at a neutral venue.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was determined not to give away the hosting rights of the tournament and thus the chairman of the PCB management committee Najam Sethi came up with a hybrid model.
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