The much-awaited 2023 Asia Cup schedule will be released by Pakistan Cricket Board today at 7:45 PM IST.
The 16th edition of the Asia Cup tournament is scheduled to play between August – September and will be jointly hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Asia Cup 2023 will also be the first of its kind to be co-hosted by multiple countries.
2023 Asia Cup Schedule Will be Released Today
Originally, the Asia Cup 2023 was scheduled to take place in 2021 but owing to the COVID-19 pandemic the tournament was postponed.
The Asia Cup 2023 will be played between the five full members of the Asian Cricket Council. The 2023 ACC Men’s Premier Cup winner Nepal will join India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
As per the Asia Cup 2023 schedule, the tournament will kickstart on August 31 in Lahore with Multan also hosting 2 games and then will move to Sri Lanka where 9 games will be played including the India vs Pakistan match.
The BCCI vs PCB brawl has pushed the schedule to be released this late.
“On Saturday, 15 July, a meeting was held between the PCB and ACC officials in respect of finalising the schedule of the Asia Cup 2023, logistical and organizational arrangements and marketing campaigns,” PCB said in a statement.
Owing to the political tension between India and Pakistan, BCCI refuses to travel to Pakistan to play the Asia Cup 2023 and demands a neutral venue for the tournament.
Following India’s demand for a neutral venue, PCB threatened to boycott the ODI World Cup 2023 scheduled to play in India between October-November.
Former Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Amir slams BCCI over their Asia Cup 2023 stand and says they come up with various lame excuses like bad weather, the expenses are too high, and security reasons.
To settle the dispute, PCB proposed a hybrid model to host the event which will also ensure that PCB can retain the hosting rights for the continental event.
Pakistan initially offered UAE as a second venue citing the lucrative opportunity for gate receipts during Pakistan-India matches in the tournament, but Bangladesh raised concerns over the extreme weather in the middle east in September.
Later Sri Lanka emerged as the co-host of the Asia Cup 2023. PCB also highlighted the weather concern as Sri Lanka receives heavy rains in September, which will make the completion of games difficult.
The two teams last played each other at the 2022 Men`s T20 World Cup in Australia.
