Asia Cup 2023: Know about Asia Cup's history, previous winners, upcoming tournament schedule & more

Asia Cup history:ICC released the schedule for Asia Cup 2023 on Wednesday, July 19. It will begin on August 30 with the co-host country Pakistan taking on ACC Men's Premier Cup winners Nepal in Multan. For the first time, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will co-host the tournament. Six nations, divided into two groups of three teams, will participate in the event. Group A has India, Nepal and Pakistan, and Group B has Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. Two teams from each group will qualify for the Super Four. Asia Cup is one of the most prestigious international ODI tournaments, launched in 1983 with the foundation of the Asian Cricket Council. Every couple of years, the ACC member countries participate in the tournament.

Here's everything you need to know about the history of the Asia Cup.

Asia Cup 2023: History

The first Asia Cup was held in 1984 in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, one year after the formation of the Asian Cricket Council. The objective of ACC was to promote goodwill between Asian countries.

Asia Cup is the only continental championship in cricket. It alternates every two years between ODI and T20I formats.

India boycotted the tournament in 1986 due to strained relations with Sri Lanka. Pakistan also boycotted the Asia Cup 1990-91 due to strained political relations with India. ACC cancelled the 1993 Asia Cup due to the same reason.

India won the first Asia Cup in 1984, followed by Sri Lanka in 1986. India has won the tournament seven times. Here's the list of previous year's winners.

Asia Cup 2023 background

In January, ACC confirmed the teams and groups of Asia Cup 2023. As India was unwilling to travel to Pakistan for the tournament, ACC approved the suggestion of Pakistan co-hosting the tournament with Sri Lanka.

Among the 13 matches, Pakistan will host four matches across two venues (Multan and Lahore), and Sri Lanka will host the remaining nine.

Here's the full schedule for the Asia Cup 2023.

Group Stage

Pakistan vs Nepal, Wednesday, August 30, Multan

Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka, Thursday, August 31, Kandy

Pakistan vs India, Saturday, September 2, Kandy

Bangladesh vs Afghanistan, Sunday, September 3, Lahore

India vs Nepal, Monday, September 4, Kandy

Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka, Tuesday, September 5, Lahore

Super 4s

A1 vs B2, Wednesday, September 6, Lahore

B1 vs B2, Saturday, September 9, Colombo

A1 vs A2, Sunday, September 10, Colombo

A2 vs B1, Tuesday, September 12, Colombo

A1 vs B1, Thursday, September 14, Colombo

A2 vs B2, Friday, September 15, Colombo

Final

Super 4s I vs Super 4s II, Friday, September 17, Colombo

(With inputs from agencies)

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