Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in same group of Asia Cup 2023

|| CF DESK ||

The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has released the cricket calendar for 2023-24 on Thursday. ACC president Jay shah posted the “pathway structure and cricket calendars” on his official Twitter handle.

The ACC will be hosting the Challenger Cup and Premier Cup for the first time ever. To elucidate, under the revised pathway structure, the 10 Associate teams ranking 9 and above in Asia will play in the ‘ACC Challenger Cup’.

The 2 finalists from the Challenger Cup will then go on to join Asia’s top 8 ranked associate teams in the ‘ACC Premier Cup’, which will accordingly see participation from 10 teams. The winning team of the ACC Men’s Premier Cup will then qualify for the Men’s Asia Cup 2023.

Mr. Jay Shah, President, Asian Cricket Council said “The Asian Cricket Council pathway structure and cricket calendar for 2023 & 2024 are designed to provide a better context of cricket across nations, engaging sports and culture while also providing a legacy for future generations.

"This is an opportunity for all players, supporters, and fans to come together in a unified force. We hope the following years will provide ample opportunity for all the countries’ cricketing talent to make it onto an international stage.”

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

The BCCI secretary has also confirmed that the Asia Cup 2023 will be held in September, with India and Pakistan being clubbed in the same group along with a Qualifying team.

Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan will feature in the other group.

It is not clear which country will host the 2023 ODI Asia Cup. Pakistan is the official host, but India’s reluctance to travel to the neighboring country may see the Asian Cricket Council shift the tournament elsewhere.

Sri Lanka are the defending Asia Cup champions in the UAE after they beat Pakistan in the final. The tournament was played in T20 format because of the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in Australia.