Pakistan: The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has changed the opening date of the 2023 Asia Cup from August 30 to August 29, with Pakistan set to play India on September 2 in Kandy. According to information obtained, the event will begin in Multan with hosts Pakistan taking on Nepal, with the final set for Colombo on September 17.
These games are included in the most recent draft schedule, which is likely to undergo more modifications before the ACC releases the final one.The final Schedule would be released on 19th July in Pakistan.
The six-nation tournament being held in Pakistan and Sri Lanka based on the hybrid concept recently accepted by the ACC has caused multiple changes of the initial draft schedule created by the PCB (hosts).
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The tournament will feature 13 games, all of which are set to begin at 1 p.m. Pakistan Standard Time (1 p.m. Sri Lanka Standard Time and 1 p.m. Indian Standard Time). Group A includes Pakistan, India, and Nepal, while Group B includes Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.
The top two teams from each group go on to the Super Four round, where the top two teams advance to the championship game. With the exception of Nepal, five of the six nations in the Asia Cup are effectively practicing for the ODI World Cup, which starts on October 5 in India and will be played in the 50-over format this time.
The PCB's original strategy was for Pakistan to host all four of its matches in a single city. But once a new PCB administration, led by new chairman Zaka Ashraf, took over this month, Multan was added as the second location. According to the draft schedule, Lahore will host three matches and one Super Fours game, while Multan will host just the first game.
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Afghanistan and Bangladesh are scheduled to play each other on September 3 in Lahore and September 5, respectively, at the Gaddafi Stadium. The draft schedule also notes that Pakistan and India, regardless of where they place in the first round, will remain at positions A1 and A2, respectively, while Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will continue at positions B1 and B2, respectively. Nepal and Afghanistan would take the spot of the team eliminated (Pakistan or India in Group A and Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Group B) if they were to advance to the Super Four stage.
The lone Super Fours game scheduled for Pakistan that is part of the draft is on September 6 between A1 and B2. Pakistan and India will play one more on September 10 in Kandy if both countries make it to the Super Four round. The other Sri Lankan location slated to host three games in the Super 4s stage is Dambulla.
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