PCB, BCCI officials conclude Asia Cup 2023 schedule

Lahore: The Asia Cup schedule for this year's tournament in Pakistan and Sri Lanka has been finalized, as reported by The Press Trust of India. The competition, played in the 50-over format, is set to take place from August 31 to September 17. The official schedule is expected to be released later this week.

The Asian Cricket Council has adopted a hybrid model for the tournament, with the first four matches scheduled to be held in Pakistan, followed by the remaining matches in Sri Lanka.

The highly anticipated clash between India and Pakistan will take place in Dambulla, Sri Lanka. Pakistan's sole home match is likely to be against Nepal and is expected to be held in Lahore. The other three matches in Pakistan will feature Afghanistan against Bangladesh, Bangladesh against Sri Lanka, and Sri Lanka against Afghanistan.

The schedule was finalized during a meeting between Zaka Ashraf, the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee, and Jay Shah, the Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the President of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). The meeting took place during the International Cricket Council's (ICC) annual session's chief executives' committee (CEC) meeting in Durban, South Africa, on Tuesday.

Arun Dhumal, the current Chairman of the Indian Premier League, confirmed the schedule, saying that their secretary met PCB head Zaka Ashraf, and the Asia Cup schedule was finalized as discussed earlier. The tournament will include four league stage games in Pakistan, followed by nine games in Sri Lanka, including the highly anticipated India versus Pakistan match and, if applicable, a third game if both teams make it to the final.

India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Nepal are the other teams which will compete in a total of 13 One-Day International (ODI) matches.

The said teams were divided into two groups. Pakistan, India, and Nepal are in Group A while Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka are in Group B.