Asia Cup 2023: 50-over format tournament in September; India-Pakistan in the same group

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The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) announced on Thursday that the 2023 Asia Cup will be held in September and that the tournament will be played in a 50-over format. The program and the host country are not yet known.

Pakistan is the original host of this year’s Asia Cup, but the BCCI is reluctant to play there due to political tensions between the two countries.

The then chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Ramiz Raja, had opposed the BCCI’s position and had even threatened to boycott the 50-over World Cup in India.

But after a change of guard in the PCB, where Raja was replaced by Najam Sethi, there could be a positive development.

The 2023 Asia Cup will be a six-team event, involving India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and a qualifying team.

Sri Lanka are the defending champions of the Asian Cup in the UAE after beating Pakistan in the final. The tournament was played in T20 format due to the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in Australia.

As India will host the ODI World Cup later this year and the focus of all participating teams is on the Over-50s format, the Asia Cup will be held in that format this year.

BCCI Secretary and ACC President Jay Shah, when releasing the calendar for the next two years, said the schedule “depicts our unparalleled efforts and passion to take this game to new heights. With cricketers from different countries gearing up for spectacular performances, it promises to be a good time for cricket.” A total of 145 ODI and T20I matches will be played during the two-year cycle (between 2023-2024) announced by ACC. There will be 75 games in 2023 and 70 games in 2024.

The Emerging (U23) Asia Cup is also back and will be held in July this year in the men’s over-50s format and will involve eight teams. The tournament will be held in December next year, but in T20 format.

This year’s Women’s Emerging Asia Cup in June will be an eight-team T20 affair.

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