Asia Cup 2023: India coach Rahul Dravid reflects on tournament schedule and prospect of playing Pakistan three times

India's coach Rahul Dravid reflected on the Asia Cup 2023 schedule and affirmed that he and his boys need to focus on one game at a time instead of prioritising their fixtures against Pakistan.

SportsTak

• Thu • 20 Jul 2023

India's coach Rahul Dravid reflected on the Asia Cup 2023 schedule and affirmed that he and his boys need to focus on one game at a time instead of prioritising their fixtures against Pakistan. While Dravid agreed that it would be fantastic if India and Pakistan qualified for the final, he also stressed the importance of completing the process to reach the summit clash.

"The schedule is out and you have to qualify for the Super4s to play Pakistan three times, so one step at a time. I don't believe in counting my chickens too much. I want to play one game at a time," said Dravid in a video shared by the BCCI on Twitter.

"We know we have to play Pakistan and Nepal in the first two games, we need to focus on that, we need to play good cricket, we need to win those games and then see where the tournament goes. If we get the opportunity to play them three times, I think that is fantastic, that means we reach the final of the tournament and hopefully Pakistan reach the final as well. That will be a great contest and great for us and we certainly aim to do that, we certainly want to play right up to the final and win that final but we have to take the first two steps before," we added.

The stage is set for the marquee Asia Cup 2023 which is slated to kick off from August 30. Six teams- India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, UAE and Nepal are gearing up to fancy their chances at the coveted title. India will begin their campaign on September 2 against arch-rivals Pakistan at Kandy before playing Nepal on September 4 at the same venue.

As per the format, the six teams will be divided into two groups with each group having three teams each. The top two teams from each group will then qualify for the Super Four stage. The top two teams from the Super Four stage will then cross swords in the title clash. In case India and Pakistan both qualify for the Super Fours, the arch-rivals will once again cross swords on September 10 in Candy, Sri Lanka.

A total of 13 matches will be played in the tournament. The 2023 Asia Cup will be played in a 50-over format and will serve as a preparation ground for the ODI World Cup which is scheduled to take place later in the year.

Here's how the Asia Cup 2023 schedule looks like:

Aug 30 Pak vs Nep - Multan, Pakistan
Aug 31 Ban vs SL - Kandy, Sri Lanka
Sept 2 Ind vs Pak - Kandy, Sri Lanka
Sept 3 Ban vs AFG - Lahore, Pakistan
Sept 4 Ind vs Nep - Kandy, Sri Lanka
Sept 5 SL vs AFG - Lahore, Pakistan

SUPER 4s

Sept 6 A1 Vs B2 - Lahore, Pakistan
Sept 9 B1 vs B2 - Colombo, Sri Lanka
Sept 10 A1 vs A2 - Colombo, Sri Lanka

Sept 12 A2 vs B1 - Colombo, Sri Lanka
Sept 14 A1 vs B1 - Colombo, Sri Lanka
Sept 15 A2 vs B2 - Colombo, Sri Lanka

Sept 17 Final - Colombo, Sri Lanka