The 2023 Asia Cup is the 16th edition of the Asia Cup, a regional cricket tournament contested by the national teams of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). The tournament is scheduled to be held from 30 August to 17 September 2023 in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The tournament will be played in a round-robin format, with the top two teams from each group progressing to the Super Fours. The top two teams from the Super Fours will then play in the final.
The teams participating in the tournament are:
- Bangladesh
- India
- Afghanistan
- Pakistan
- Sri Lanka
- Nepal
The tournament is being jointly hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka. However, India will not be playing their matches in Pakistan due to security concerns. The India-Pakistan matches will be played in Sri Lanka.
The 2023 Asia Cup is a major opportunity for the participating teams to prepare for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, which will be held in India. The tournament will also be a chance for the teams to test their strengths and weaknesses against each other.
The defending champions are Sri Lanka, who won the 2018 Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates. They will be looking to defend their title in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The other teams will also be looking to win the tournament and improve their rankings in the ICC ODI Men’s Team Rankings.
The 2023 Asia Cup is expected to be a closely contested tournament. The teams are evenly matched and any one of them can win the title.
Here are some of the key players to watch out for in the 2023 Asia Cup:
Babar Azam (Pakistan): The Pakistan captain is one of the best batsmen in the world in all formats of the game. He will be key to Pakistan’s chances of winning the tournament.
Virat Kohli (India): The India captain is another world-class batsman. He will be looking to lead India to their first Asia Cup title since 2012
Rohit Sharma (India): The India opener is a destructive batsman who can score runs quickly. He will be a key player for India in the powerplay overs.
Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh): The Bangladesh all-rounder is a key player for his team in both batting and bowling. He will be looking to lead Bangladesh to their first Asia Cup title.
Rashid Khan (Afghanistan): The Afghanistan leg-spinner is one of the best bowlers in the world in white-ball cricket. He will be a key player for Afghanistan in the spin-friendly conditions of Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The 2023 Asia Cup is shaping up to be a fascinating tournament. With so many evenly-matched teams, it is difficult to predict who will win. However, one thing is for sure, the tournament is sure to be full of excitement and drama.