The Pakistan Cricket Board requested that the Asia Cup 2023 be played using a hybrid format, and the Asian Cricket Council granted their proposal. It has been decided that the Asia Cup will be played between the 31st of August and the 17th of September of this year.
Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka will play host to the many matches that make up the multi-nation competition. Every one of India’s matches will take place in Sri Lanka.
The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) issued a statement in which it said, “We are delighted to announce that the Asia Cup 2023 will be held from the 31st August to the 17th September 2023.”
During this tournament, the top teams from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Nepal will fight against one another in a total of 13 entertaining one-day international matches.
ACC approved PCB’s hybrid Asia Cup request.
“The 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,” ACC further noted. “The remaining nine matches will be played in Sri Lanka.”
Nepal will participate in the Asia Cup for the very first time in the 50-over competition that will be played amongst six teams. The teams competing in the event have been split up into two groups. The group that contains India, Pakistan, and Nepal also contains the teams that are currently holding the title of reigning champions: Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.
Two teams from each group will move on to the next level, which is the super four. In the championship match, the top two teams from the super four stage will compete against one other.
The fact that the calendar for the Asia Cup has been approved suggests, among other things, that Pakistan will go to India to compete in the ICC One-Day International World Cup in October and November of 2023.
PCB head Najam Sethi expressed his joy at the decision to go with the Hybrid Model. He added, “I am overjoyed that our hybrid version for the ACC Asia Cup 2023 has been accepted.”
This implies that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will continue to serve as the event host, and matches will be played in Pakistan. However, Sri Lanka will serve as the neutral location, since this was necessary owing to the fact that the Indian cricket team was unable to go to Pakistan.
“Our passionate fans would have loved to see the India cricket team in action in Pakistan for the first time in 15 years, but we understand the BCCI’s position,” said the spokesperson for the BCCI.
Before crossing international borders, the PCB also requires consent and clearance from the relevant government agencies, as the PCB head said further.