The schedule for the 2023 Asia Cup was announced on Wednesday, July 19 with the continental event starting on August 30 in Multan, Pakistan. Pakistan will host the tournament this time, which is slated to be held in a hybrid model. Four games will take place in the original host country including a Super 4s game while the remaining nine games will take place in Sri Lanka, including the final.
Pakistan will kick off the tournament with a game against Nepal before facing their arch-rivals India in Kandy on September 2. Two out of three teams will qualify for the Super Four from each group before the four teams play each other once again. Hence, if India and Pakistan both qualify from Group A, they will face each other again in the Super Four apart from the two qualifying teams from Group B amongst Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
But considering the strength of the teams competing in the tournament, India and Pakistan are the two strongest sides and both could face each other yet again in the final. The tournament will not have semi-finals or quarter-finals and a straight direct final, which will mean that every single game will matter.
Pakistan and India will be A1 and A2, respectively as mentioned in the Asia Cup schedule, hence they will face each other once again on September 10 and if they win at least two games each, they will be in the running for the final to face each other for the third time in a span of 15 days.
All these three matches will almost be a dress rehearsal for the big game between the two teams, a month later in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 on October 15 at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.