Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has announced the Asia Cup 2022 Schedule, with the first match set for August 27. The 15th edition of The Asia Cup will feature the 6 best cricket teams on the continent in 13 matches. The tournament will be played in a t20 format, dividing teams into 2 groups, A and B. Each team will face each other once in their respective group. 2 teams from each group will qualify for Super 4, where they will play in a league format to determine the final 2.
Asia Cup 2022 Schedule
Many sports channels, websites, and journalists shared the Asia Cup 2022 Schedule on social media. As it can be seen, 5 teams, i.e., India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan, are already in the main tournament, whereas one is denoted as a “qualifier”. This 6th spot is reserved for the winner of the qualifying round between UAE, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Kuwait, starting on August 20.
The continental championship kicks off with 2 crisis-hit nations, Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan. 7-time Asia Cup winners and reigning champions India are set to face their arch nemesis on the second day of the event. Super 4 will start on August 7, and the Final will be commenced on September 11. All matches will begin at 18:00 GST (Gulf Standard Time).
Rivalry Saga Continues
Perhaps the most exciting match in the Asia Cup 2022 schedule is the clash between India and Pakistan. Both teams have seldom failed to put up a spectacle for cricket lovers. India came out as the winner most of time but recently things have changed. Now India will certainly face a very different Pakistan with a reinvigorated spirit.
The green shirts went with Babar Azam as the captain, who led the team to victory against India in the 2021 ICC t20 World Cup. It is predicted that India will go for Rohit Sharma as the captain, given the decline in Virat Kohli’s form. Sharma is on a roll, having scored 64 runs in his latest t20 outing against West Indies. He will most likely open against Pakistan with Kohli as KL Rahul will be on the bench, recovering from injury.
Venue Shift
Asia Cup 2022 Schedule confirmed that all the matches will now take place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Previously, Sri Lanka was going to host the big event, but due to its disastrous situation, the opportunity went to the wealthy middle-eastern nation. Sri Lanka is currently facing defining challenges with record inflation, high debt, low foreign exchange, and food and fuel shortages, intensified by poor governance. Protests spanning months led the residing President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign and flee the country. So the cricket council changed the venue to UAE, assuming that “security concerns” would be less as compared to Sri Lanka. Matched will be played across 3 stadiums – Dubai International, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi.
The Asia Cup was established in 1983 with the foundation of the Asian Cricket Council in an attempt to promote goodwill between Asian cricket teams. Originally, the tournament was meant to happen after every 2 years, interchanging between ODI and t20 formats. However, there were some exemptions due to serious reasons. This time, the event is happening after 4 years since the last Asia Cup in 2018. The 2020 one was postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic but then again pushed back to 2023 because of the busy international schedule and rising COVID cases in Sri Lanka.
