The Men's Asia Cup is set to commence today (August 30), with six teams poised to battle it out for the coveted title.
The 2023 Asia Cup will be co-hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka and the two hosts will be joined by Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India and Nepal for the 16th edition of the event.
This will be Nepal’s debut in the tournament. They qualified by winning the inaugural ACC Men’s Premier Cup 2023, where they overcame the United Arab Emirates in the final by seven wickets.
The tournament started all the way back in 1984 in the ODI format, although the recent editions have alternated between ODI and T20I formats. The 2023 edition will be played as an ODI (50-over) competition.
India is the most successful side in the tournament with seven titles (six ODI and one T20I) to their name. Sri Lanka comes in second place with six (five ODI and one T20I) titles. Pakistan has won the Asia Cup twice.
Asia Cup Groups
Group A: India, Pakistan, Nepal
Group B: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
The Asia Cup 2023 kicks off on 30 August with two groups comprising three teams playing in round-robin style within their group. Top two sides from each group will then qualify for the Super Four stage. The Super Four will be another round-robin series of games. The top two sides from there will qualify for the final, to be played on 17 September in Colombo.
The group stage of the tournament will be played from 30 August to 5 September. Three of these games will be played in Pakistan, while the rest will be held in Sri Lanka.
The best of Sri Lanka all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga so far at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022.
The Super Four stage will run from 6 to 15 September, with five encounters being played in Sri Lanka, and one in Pakistan. The final will be hosted at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 17 September.
The Asia Cup will be played across four venues in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Multan and Lahore will host the Pakistan leg of the tournament, whereas Kandy and Colombo will host the games in Sri Lanka.
Asia Cup squads
Afghanistan squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Rashid Khan, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Abdul Rahman, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Suliman Safi, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Afghanistan enter the tournament in the aftermath of a 3-0 series loss to Pakistan. However, the side can draw encouragement from their recent ODI performances. They displayed resilience in a 2-1 series loss to Sri Lanka in June and secured a 2-1 ODI series victory against Bangladesh in July. The team will bank on their world-class spinners to excel in the conducive sub-continent conditions.
Afghanistan bank on experience
Bangladesh squad: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain Dhrubo, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Nasum Ahmed, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Naim Sheikh, Shamim Hossain, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Tanzim Hasan Sakib
In the ongoing season, the Tigers won a three-match ODI series 2-0 against Ireland away from home before being humbled by a spirited Afghanistan side (2-1) at home in the same format. Further, they have been rocked by player availability issues. Seamer Ebadot Hossain was ruled out of the Asia Cup due to a knee injury incurred during the ODI series against Afghanistan last month. Former skipper Tamim Iqbal stepped down from ODI captaincy duty after a recurring back injury ruled him out of the tournament.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Sanju Samson (travelling reserve)
Big calls made as India announce Asia Cup squad
India boasts several key players who are making a comeback from injuries, and the team is eager to regain their top form during the Asia Cup. In the ODI format, their recent performance has been a blend of outcomes. They achieved impressive victories over New Zealand and Sri Lanka, sweeping both series at home earlier this year, yet faced defeat against Australia. More recently, they clinched a three-game series against West Indies with a 2-1 victory.
Nepal squad: Rohit Paudel (c), Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Bhim Sharki, Kushal Malla, Aarif Sheikh, Dipendra Singh Airee, Gulshan Jha, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Pratish GC, Mousom Dhakal, Sundeep Jora, Kishore Mahato, Arjun Saud
Tournament debutants Nepal would like to continue their impressive form during the Asia Cup. The side made a miraculous comeback in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2, winning 11 of their last 12 games, earlier this year to qualify for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023.
Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Haris, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir (travelling reserve)
Pakistan have shown good form across all formats this year. After losing the ODI series to New Zealand in January, they won an ODI series against the same team during April and May. They also recently beat Afghanistan 3-0 in Sri Lanka which propelled them to the top of the MRF Tyres ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings. The Babar Azam-led side seems to have the right mix of players in each department.
Pakistan make changes to Asia Cup squad
Sri Lanka squad: Dasun Shanaka (c), Pathum Nissanaka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Janith Perera, Kusal Mendis (vc), Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Matheesha Pathirana, Kasun Rajitha, Dushan Hemantha, Binura Fernando, Pramod Madushan.
Sri Lanka will be without four key bowlers for the 2023 Asia Cup. Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Madushanka and Lahiru Kumara are all nursing injuries and will sit out of the six-team tournament where a huge chunk of games will be played at home.
However, Sri Lanka have momentum on their side in ODIs after a 2-1 bilateral series victory against Afghanistan which was followed by the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier win in Zimbabwe.
With key players missing, Dasun Shanaka will hope the younger bowlers rise to the occasion as they look to defend their Asia Cup title.
Asia Cup fixtures
DATE GROUP STAGE VENUE
30 AUG PAKISTAN v NEPAL MULTAN, PAK
31 AUG BANGLADESH v SRI LANKA KANDY, SL
2 SEP PAKISTAN v INDIA KANDY, SL
3 SEP BANGLADESH v AFGHANISTAN LAHORE, PAK
4 SEP INDIA v NEPAL KANDY, SL
5 SEP AFGHANISTAN v SRI LANKA LAHORE, PAK
SUPER 4s
6 SEP A1 v B2 LAHORE, PAK
9 SEP B1 v B2 COLOMBO, SL
10 SEP A1 v A2 COLOMBO, SL
12 SEP A2 v B1 COLOMBO, SL
14 SEP A1 v B1 COLOMBO, SL
15 SEP A2 v B2 COLOMBO, SL
17 SEP FINAL COLOMBO, SL
Source: ICC
BDST: 1259 HRS, AUG 30, 2023
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