Asia Cup 2022 schedule announced; India vs Pakistan match on August 28

The schedule for the 15th edition of the Asia Cup was officially announced on Tuesday, August 2, with Sri Lanka to play Afghanistan in the opener on August 27 in Dubai.
 
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India will take on arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday, August 28 at the Dubai International Stadium.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India, officially announced the Asia Cup 2022 schedule on Tuesday, with the 15th edition of the tournament to get underway on August 27 at the Dubai International Stadium. Sri Lanka will take on Afghanistan in the opener, while India, the defending champions, will kick-start their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan at the same venue the following day.

"The wait is finally over as the battle for Asian supremacy commences on 27th August with the all-important final on 11th September. The 15th edition of the Asia Cup will serve as ideal preparation ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup," the Asian Cricket Council President and BCCI secretary Jay Shah tweeted.

Dubai and Sharjah will be the two venues for the tournament, with the former to host 10 of the 13 games, including the final on September 11.

The Asia Cup 2022 was to be initially hosted by Sri Lanka, but was officially moved to the UAE only last week, given the ongoing political turmoil and the crises in the island nation in recent times.

Sri Lanka Cricket however, retained their hosting rights.

"Every effort was made to host the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and the decision to shift the venue to the UAE was taken after much deliberation," Jay Shah was quoted as saying in a press release on Wednesday, July 27. "The UAE will be the new venue while Sri Lanka will continue to retain hosting rights."

The tournament has been played in either ODI or the T20I format on a rotational basis, depending on the format of the upcoming world events since 2016. The previous edition, back in 2018, was played in an ODI format in the UAE less than a year before the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales.

India, under Rohit Sharma, defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets in a last-ball finish to clinch their seventh title.

Of the 14 editions played since 1984, Sri Lanka have won five (1986, 1997, 2004, 2008 and 2014), while Pakistan have won two (2000 and 2012).

The tournament will be preceded by a qualifying round featuring UAE, Kuwait, Singapore and Hong Kong, with the winners to join India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh in the main event. The qualifying team will join India and Pakistan in Group A, with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan placed in Group B. Each team will play the other two in the group once in the first round with the top two progressing to the Super 4 stage. Each of the four teams in Super 4 will play the other once, and the top two teams from the round will contest the final on September 11.