According to reports, India are set to take on arch-rivals Pakistan on August 28 in the upcoming Asia Cup, which is set to be hosted in the island nation of Sri Lanka from August 27. Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Ashley de Silva told Daily FT that the matches of the tournament will be held as per schedule. the SLC has also prepared the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) for the same.
The reports also add that Sri Lanka Cricket has got the official nod from India to host the Asia Cup. The teams to have already qualified for the tournament include India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Meanwhile, the likes of UAE, Nepal, Oman, Hong Kong, and others will play qualifiers, slated to kick off on August 21.
India enter the tournament as defending champions, having defeated Bangladesh in the final of the last edition of the Asia Cup, held in 2018.
The India and Pakistan teams that will meet in the Asia Cup will noticeably be different. The Rohit Sharma-led India will be eyeing revenge when they meet Pakistan as the Men in Blue suffered a shameful 10-wicket defeat against the Babar Azam-led side when they last met in the T20 World Cup 2021.
It should be noted that Sri Lanka is currently going through an economic and civil crisis, but the country is hosting Australia in a full-fledged series, which has given confidence to the SLC to host Asia Cup 2022 without any problems.
This time around, the Asia Cup will be played in T20 format. The matches for the qualifiers will kick off on August 21. The other teams in this draw include UAE, Oman, Nepal, and Hong Kong. One of these teams will qualify for the main draw. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh have already earned their place in the main draw. The last time the Asia Cup was hosted in the UAE. India won their 7th title the last time around.
