The schedule for Asia Cup 2022 was released by Asian Cricket Council (ACC) on Tuesday, with Rohit Sharma’s Team India set to face Pakistan in their first game on August 28.
The Asia Cup’s opening fixture will see “hosts” Sri Lanka take on Afghanistan in Dubai on August 27, while the final of the tournament will be played on September 11.
Sri Lanka were the original hosts for this year’s Asia Cup, however, due to the ongoing turmoil in the island nation, the Asia Cup was shifted to UAE recently.
The six-team tournament is structured in a manner that offers a high probability that the teams will face off once again in the Super 4 stage. India last faced Pakistan in the group stage of the T20 World Cup in 2021 where Babar Azam’s men recorded a 10-wicket victory.
This is the second time after 2016 that the Asia Cup will be played in the T20I format. India defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the group stage before proceeding to win the tournament over Bangladesh in the 2016 final.
It is also the defending champion, having won the tournament in the ODI format under Rohit Sharma in UAE in 2018.
India has also won seven of its nine previous meetings against Pakistan in T20Is. It is also the most successful team in the Asia Cup with six titles from 12 editions since 1984.
While India and Pakistan make up group A, their third rival will be decided by a qualifier player between August 20 and 26 wherein Hong Kong, Kuwait, Singapore and UAE will play and fight it out to join the Asian giants.
Group B consists of Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
Ten out of the 13 games, including the final, will be played in Dubai, while Shatjah will host the remaining three.
According to the format of Asia Cup 2022, the top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super 4 stage, and the two teams in the Super 4 stage will play in the final at Dubai International Stadium on September 11.
Asia Cup 2022 will be telecast on the Star Sports network in India and Disney + Hotstar will stream the event. All matches of the Asia Cup will take place at 7:30 PM IST.
