Asia Cup 2023: The New ODI Cricket Format Details Explained
The Asia Cup 2023 shall witness a 50-over lookout as we look at the complete detailed explanation of the new cricket format.
The last few days have been quite abuzz in relation to the hosting of Asia Cup 2023. There has been a constant circulation of rumours that India won’t send their team to Pakistan, the hosts of Asia Cup 2023. Whereas Pakistan has threatened to retaliate by not sending their team to ODI World Cup 2023.
Given the tussle between both countries, the location is still not decided on where the Asia Cup 2023 shall be hosted. We should get to know more about the location probably near the end of March, but before that let’s look at the detailed explanation of the new Asia Cup 2023 format.
Asia Cup Format Details:
The Asia Cup 2023 shall witness a 50-over format this time around as compared to the 20-over format that we saw in 2022. Historically, the Asia Cup adapts to the ICC tournament that is scheduled to play that same year or the succeeding year. With the ODI World Cup 2023 schedule this year, Asia Cup 2023 shall be played in the ODI format.
Asia Cup Qualifier 2023
Similar to Asia Cup 2022, the 2023 Asia Cup 2023 shall see one team qualifying for the actual tournament through Asia Cup 2023 qualifiers. The Asia Cup 2023 qualifier has two stages. The first stage is the Men’s Challenger Cup tournament where a total of eight Associate member nations shall take part for two qualification spots into the main draw of the Men’s Premier Cup.
Men’s Challenger Cup Participants:
Group A: Bahrain, Bhutan, Maldives and Iran
Group B: Saudi Arabia, Indonesia (Invitee), Thailand and Myanmar
Men’s Premier Cup Participants:
Group A: United Arab Emirates, Nepal, Kuwait, Qatar, Winner (Challenger Cup)
Group B: Oman, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Runners-up (Challenger Cup)
The second stage, the Men’s Premier will see ten Associate member countries compete for the title. The Winner of the Premier Cup tournament will qualify for the 2023 Asia Cup. The Men’s Challenger Cup tournament shall take place from 24th February to 05th March, 2023 in Thailand. Whereas the Men’s Premier Cup tournament shall take place from 24th April to 08th May, 2023.
Asia Cup 2023 Group Stage and Super Four Format
Asia Cup 2023 shall witness a group stage and Super Four format as we had seen in 2022. Unsurprisingly, India and Pakistan are placed in the same group along with one more team from the qualifiers. Whereas Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan are placed in another group.
Each team shall play every other team in the group once. Hence, 2 matches per team in the Group stage. The top two teams based on points and NRR shall then advance to the Super Four stage. In the Super Four Stage, each team shall play every other team once. Hence, 3 matches per team in the Super Four stage.
Finally, the top two teams from the Super Four Stage shall then advance to play the final of Asia Cup 2023. The Asia Cup 2023 is expected to be played in September, 2023, which will be followed by ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023.
Thanks for reading! What’s your take on the Asia Cup 2023? Please email your thoughts to cric8fanatic@gmail.com
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