The wait for Asia Cup could be coming to an end soon as all the participating nations, includin hosts India, are likely to get clearances from their respective governments soon, according to a report in the Times of India. Reportedly, all matches of the upcoming tournament will be played in UAE and the tournament will kick off from 5 September.
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and UAE will be the six nations participating in the upcoming tournament which will be played in the group stage and Super Fours format.
This would mean that the high octane India vs Pakistan will be played at least two times in the tournament with the second clash set to be played on 14 September. The Asia Cup will be played in T20I format and the penutimate clash will played on 21 September.
Promotional acitivites for Asia Cup begin:
Reportedly, the promotional activities for the tournament have already begun with official broadcasters Sony recently sharing a poster for the multi-nation tournament.
Notably, there were question marks about the tournament especially after the recent escalation in tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of Operation Sindoor. However, if Asia Cup continues as planned it would send a message for all future international tournaments as well.
Earlier this year, there were reports that India may pull out of Asia Cup due to the cross border tensions but BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia had refuted those claims in a statement in May. He said, “Since this morning, it has come to our notice about some news items about BCCI’s decision not to participate in the Asia Cup and Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup, both ACC events. Such news is devoid of any truth as till now, the BCCI has not even discussed or taken any such steps regarding the ensuing ACC events, leave alone writing anything to the ACC,”