ACC Unveils 2023-24 Cricket Calendar; India, Pakistan in same group for 2023 Asia Cup

The President of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). Jay Shah, released the cricket calendar for 2023-24 on Thursday. Shah posted the update on his official Twitter handle revealing the path for the associated countries to take part in the competition.

Shah, who is also the BCCI secretary, confirmed that the 2023 Asia Cup would be held in September India and Pakistan be clubbed in the same group. The tournament will be played in the same format used for the past two editions. The upcoming 16th season will have a total of 13 matches, including the subsequent Super 4 stage and the final.

The exciting tournament is scheduled for September, but in the 50-over format, taking into account the October-November ODI World Cup. The Asia Cup is particularly known for its adaptation, as it was reduced to a T20 format in 2016 and 2022, when the shortest format World Cups took place.

According to the new calendar, 2023 will start with the Men’s Challengers Cup, a tournament with fifty teams of ten teams. This competition will feature 10 teams, eight of which will be from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Maldives, Thailand and Iran. The other two teams have not yet been announced. There will be two pools of five teams each. A total of 23 matches will be played.

A regional men’s under-16 tournament is then held in March. The tournament will feature eight teams, regionally speaking. The winners and runners-up of the aforementioned Men’s Challengers Cup qualify for the Men’s Premier Cup, a 50-over tournament. This competition is played in April and consists of 24 games. Ten teams divided into two groups of five matches for this competition. The confirmed teams for the tournament are UAE, Nepal, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.

A Women’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup will take place in June, with eight teams divided into groups of two each. One group contains India A, Pakistan A, Thailand and Hong Kong. The other group has teams like Sri Lanka A, Bangladesh A, UAE and Malaysia.

Next up is the Men’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup, another 50-over tournament. This competition consists of eight teams divided into two groups of four each. The first group consists of India A, Pakistan A, Sri Lanka A and Qualifier 1. The other group has Afghanistan A, Bangladesh A and Qualifiers 2 and 3. It will have 15 matches.

The Asia Cup for men, the main tournament of ACC, will take place in September. It will feature six teams divided into two groups. India, Pakistan and Qualifier 1 (the winner of the Men’s Premier Cup) are in one group, while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are in the other. A total of 13 matches will be played.

A tournament for Men’s Under 19 Cricket is each held in October, November and December in the form of a Challengers Cup, Men’s Under-19 Premier Cup and Men’s Asia Cup at the under-19 level.

The year 2024 kicks off with the Men’s T20 Challenger Cup in February and the Women’s T20 Challenger Cup in March. The men’s tournament consists of Asian cricket associate teams ranked 14 to 23, while the women’s event has associate teams ranked 9 to 18. Winner and runner-up of this tournament qualify for the Men’s and Women’s T20 Premier Cup, which takes place in respectively April and May.

The Women’s T20 Asia Cup and the Under-19 Men’s Asia Cup are held in September and October. Then the T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup for men will be held in December.

view more

Presenting the @ACCMedia1 trajectory structure & cricket calendars for 2023 & 2024! This indicates our unparalleled efforts and passion to take this game to new heights. With cricketers from all over the world gearing up for spectacular performances, it promises to be a good time for cricket! pic.twitter.com/atzBO4XjIn

— Jay Shah (@JayShah) January 5, 2023