Twitter went crazy after BCCI and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Jay Shah tweeted to reveal the schedule of Asia Cup 2022 on Tuesday. The Asia Cup, which was shifted out of Sri Lanka, will now be played in the UAE starting August 27 with Sri Lanka taking on Afghanistan. The big interest, however, will be for the next day’s encounter between India and Pakistan in Dubai. This will be the first time the two sides will meet at the Dubai International Stadium after Pakistan had beaten India in a T20 World Cup 2021 group stage match. Six teams – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and a qualifier have been divided in two groups. India, Pakistan and the qualifier feature in Group A while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan complete Group B.
“The wait is finally over as the battle for Asian supremacy commences on 27th August with the all-important final on 11th September. The 15th edition of the Asia Cup will serve as ideal preparation ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup,” Shah tweeted while releasing the fixture.
As soon as the tweet was up, fans flocked to social media to show their excitement.
Asia Cup format is always dependant on which format’s global event is round the corner and hence this time, it is a T20 event. Next year’s Asia cup will be an ODI event.
The Indo-Pak matches are the main attraction of the tournament and expectedly the ACC has ensured at least two such matches. If the two teams reach the final, it will extend to three games.
India and Pakistan are expected to finish in top two after the league stage matches. That gives the teams another shot at each other in the ‘Super 4’s’ stage. The top two teams then will qualify for the final on September 11 in Dubai.
Fixtures:
Sat, Aug 27: Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan (Dubai)
Sun, Aug 28: India vs Pakistan (Dubai)
Tue, Aug 30: Bangladesh vs Afghanistan (Sharjah)
Wed, Aug 31: India vs Qualifier (Dubai)
Thu, Sep 1 : Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh (Dubai)
Fri, Sep 2 : Pakistan vs Qualifier (Sharjah)
Super Fours
Sat, Sep 3: B1 vs B2 (Sharjah)
Sun, Sep 4: A1 vs A2 (Dubai)
Tue, Sep 6 : A1 vs B1 (Dubai)
Wed, Sep 7: A2 vs B2 (Dubai)
Thu, Sep 8: A1 vs B2 (Dubai)
Fri, Sep 9: B1 vs A2 (Dubai)
Sun, Sep 11: Final (Dubai).
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