The schedule for upcoming Asia Cup 2022 is out and India-Pakistan will face off on August 28 in a Group A clash at Dubai. The tournament will begin on August 27 and the final will be played on September 11. Earlier, it was confirmed that Asia Cup will be hosted by Sri Lanka in the UAE. The tournament was moved out of Sri Lanka due to ongoing economic crisis.
The match against Pakistan would be India's first fixture in the upcoming Asia Cup, and after this match, the Rohit Sharma-led side will face off against a Qualifier. After the group stage fixtures, there would be a Super 4 phase, and the best two teams will progress to the finals.
"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," tweeted Jay Shah, the secretary of BCCI.
Earlier, while announcing the move of shifting the Asia Cup from Sri Lanka to UAE, the Asian Cricket Council President Jay Shah said: "Considering the prevailing situation in Sri Lanka, the ACC after extensive deliberation has unanimously concluded that it would be appropriate to relocate the tournament from Sri Lanka to the UAE," the ACC said in a statement. "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. The UAE will be the new venue while Sri Lanka will continue to retain hosting rights."
"We were really looking forward to hosting our Asian neighbours in Sri Lanka for the much-anticipated Asia Cup. While I fully stand by the ACC's decision to shift the Asia Cup to UAE considering the current context and the magnitude of the event, Sri Lanka Cricket will work closely with the ACC and Emirates Cricket Board to ensure that we still have an exciting edition of the Asia Cup," Sri Lanka Cricket chief Shammi Silva said.
The T20 tournament will be played from August 27 to September 11.