India and Pakistan in same group in Asia Cup 2023 as Asian Cricket Council announces calendar

New Delhi:India and Pakistan will be drawn in the same group for the Asia Cup 2023 tournament to be held in September, confirmed Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chairman Jay Shah while announcing the cricket calendar for the 2023/24 season.

Along with India and Pakistan, Bangladesh, defending champion Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and a team from the qualifiers will also participate in the tournament. But there is no mention of the host venue for Asia Cup 2023 in the calendar.

Shah, who is also the Honorary Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), released the Asian Cricket Path Structure and Cricket Calendars through his social media accounts.

According to the calendar, the ACC will organize 145 matches in both ODIs and T20Is over two years. According to the further distribution of the cycle, 75 matches will be played in 2023 and 70 matches in 2024. The men’s emerging (U23) Asia Cup is also back.

The Women’s Asia Cup will be played in September 2024, and India and Pakistan will be placed in the same group along with a qualifier. Sri Lanka are joined by Bangladesh and another qualifier in the second group.

According to the new calendar, 2023 will kick off with the Men’s Challengers Cup, a ten-team, 50-team tournament featuring Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Maldives, Thailand, Iran and two yet to be named. the teams. The teams are divided into two groups of five teams.

In March, a regional tournament for men under the age of 16 will be organized, each with 35 crossings. The tournament includes eight teams by region. The winners and runners-up of the aforementioned Men’s Challengers Cup qualify for the Men’s 50s Premier Cup.

The tournament is played in April and has ten teams divided into two groups of five. The teams are the United Arab Emirates, Nepal, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia and the Men’s Challengers Cup qualifiers.

In June and July, the Women’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup and the Men’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup will be played in the 50-over format. The Men’s ODI Asia Cup in September will be followed by the Men’s U19 Challenger Cup, the Men’s U19 Premier Cup and the Men’s U19 Asia Cup in October, November and December.

The year 2024 starts with the Men’s and Women’s T20 Challenger Cup in February and March. It will be followed by the Men’s and Women’s T20 Premier Cups in April and May.

The Women’s T20 Asia Cup will be held in September, followed by the Men’s U19 Asia Cup and the Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup in October and December.