The Asian Cricket Council has announced the calendar for the next two years, which has India and Pakistan in the same group for the Asia Cup 2023.
Arch-rivals The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) head Jay Shah revealed on Thursday that India and Pakistan are in the same group for the Asia Cup 2023. Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), unveiled the council’s cricket calendar for 2023 and 2024, as well as a route framework for qualification to the Men’s and Women’s Asia Cups, on Thursday.
“The @ACCMedia1 route structure and cricket calendars for 2023 and 2024 are now available! This demonstrates our unrivalled efforts and enthusiasm for taking this game to new heights. With cricketers from all around the world preparing for fantastic performances, it promises to be an exciting time for cricket! “Shah said on Twitter.
According to the revised schedule, 2023 will begin with the Men’s Challengers Cup, a ten-team fifty-over competition. This event will include ten teams, with eight of them representing Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, the Maldives, Thailand, and Iran. Two teams are yet to be announced. Each group will consist of five teams. There will be a total of 23 matches.
A Men’s Under-16 Regional event will be held in March. The competition will include eight teams from each zone.
The Men’s Challengers Cup champions and runners-up will advance to the Men’s Premier Cup, a 50-over event. This tournament will take place in April and will consist of 24 matches. Ten teams will compete in two groups of five matches each. UAE, Nepal, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia have all confirmed their participation in the event.
A Women’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup will be held in June. It will feature eight teams, each divided into two groups of two. India A, Pakistan A, Thailand, and Hong Kong will form one group. Teams from Sri Lanka A, Bangladesh A, the UAE, and Malaysia will compete in the other group.
The Men’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup, a 50-over competition, will follow. The event’s top three teams will qualify for this tournament. There will be eight teams in this competition, divided into two groups of four. India A, Pakistan A, Sri Lanka A, and Qualifier 1 will compete in the first group. Afghanistan A, Bangladesh A, and Qualifier 2 and 3 will be in the opposite group. There will be 15 matches in this event.
A Men’s L2 Coaching Course and a Curators Workshop will be held in August.
The ACC’s primary competition, the men’s Asia Cup, will be contested in September. Six teams will compete, divided into two groups of three. One group includes India, Pakistan, and Qualifier 1 (the winner of the Men’s Premier Cup), while the other includes Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. The event will have 13 matches in total.
Men’s Under 19 Cricket will have one competition each in October, November, and December. In October, an Under-19 Challengers Cup will begin off the season. The event will consist of ten matches, which will be divided into five groups of five. Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Bhutan, China, and a qualifier will be in the first group. Myanmar, Maldives, Thailand, Iran, and Qualifer 2 will be in the other group.
Ten teams will compete in the Men’s Under-19 Premier Cup in November. The first group will include the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Nepal, Qatar, and Qualifier 1. The following group will consist of Oman, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and a second qualifier. It will feature the Challengers Cup champion.
The Men’s Asia Cup at the under-19 level will be contested in December, comprising the Premier Cup champion, runner-up, and third-place finish team. India and Pakistan have been confirmed into Group 1 along with two qualifiers, and Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan have been confirmed for Group 2.
The Men’s T20 Challenger Cup will take place in February, followed by the Women’s T20 Challenger Cup in March. Asian cricket’s affiliate teams rated 14 to 23 will compete in the men’s tournament, while associate teams placed nine to 18 will compete in the women’s tournament.
The event winner and runner-up will qualify for the Men’s and Women’s T20 Premier Cups, which will be contested in April and May, respectively. The men’s tournament will include ten teams, all of which are associate teams ranked from 6 to 13, as well as qualifiers. The women’s tournament will include six teams, with associate teams rated from 5 to 8, as well as two qualifiers.
A Men’s L3 coaching course and a Curators Workshop will be place in August.
The Women’s T20 Asia Cup and Men’s Under-19 Asia Cup will be contested in September and October, respectively. The T20 Asia Cup will include the top two teams from the Women’s Premier Cup. There will be 16 matches with six teams divided into two groups of three. One group will include India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, while the other will include Sri Lanka and two qualifiers.
The Men’s Under-19 Asia Cup will feature eight nations in October. India, Pakistan, Qualifer 1 and 2 will compete in one group, while Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Qualifier 3 will compete in the other.
Following an Umpires Workshop in November, the Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup will be contested in December. This competition will feature the top three teams from the Under-19 Premier Cup as well as eight teams in total, divided into two groups of four. India A, Pakistan A, Sri Lanka A, and Qualifier 1 will compete. Bangladesh A, Afghanistan A, and Qualifier 2 and 3 will compete in the other group.
