Finally, the wait is over for cricket enthusiasts, with the release of the complete schedule for the Asia Cup 2022. The battle for Asian supremacy will begin on August 27 and the final will be held on September 11.
The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) recently announced the schedule for the 15th edition of the Asia Cup 2022. Sri Lanka will take on Afghanistan in the opener on August 27, while India, the defending champions, will kick-start their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan at the same venue on August 28.
The Indian team squad that has been chosen for the Asia Cup 2022 is expected to be the same which will compete in the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia barring any injury-related pull-outs.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who also heads the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), released the tournament schedule, which was initially planned in Sri Lanka but shifted due to the island nation's prevailing political and economic crisis.
"The wait is finally over as the battle for Asian supremacy commences on August 27 with the all-important final on September 11. The 15th edition of the Asia Cup will serve as ideal preparation ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup," Shah tweeted while releasing the schedule.
India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka are the five teams participating in the Asia Cup 2022. In addition, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Singapore, and UAE will compete against each other to qualify for the last spot at the Asia Cup.
Indian Squad for Asia Cup 2022
Coach: Rahul Dravid Captain: Rohit Sharma Vice Captain: KL Rahul
Batters: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, and Suryakumar Yadav
Wicketkeepers: Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik
All-rounders: Hardik Pandya, Deepak Hooda, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja
Bowlers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, and Avesh Khan
Reserves: Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, and Akshar Patel
Pakistan Squad for Asia Cup 2022
Captain: Babar Azam Vice Captain: Shadab Khan
Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani and Zahid Mehmood.
Asia Cup 2022 Fixtures
Sat, August 27: Sri Lanka vs. Afghanistan (Dubai)
Sun, August 28: India vs. Pakistan (Dubai)
Tue, August 30: Bangladesh vs. Afghanistan (Sharjah)
Wed, August 31: India vs. Qualifier (Dubai)
Thu, Sep 1: Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh (Dubai)
Fri, September 2: Pakistan vs. Qualifier (Sharjah)
Super Fours:
Sat, Sep 3: B1 vs. B2 (Sharjah)
Sun, Sep 4: A1 vs. A2 (Dubai)
Tue, Sep 6: A1 vs. B1 (Dubai)
Wed, Sep 7: A2 vs. B2 (Dubai)
Thu, Sep 8: A1 vs. B2 (Dubai)
Fri, Sep 9: b1 vs. A2 (Dubai)
Sun, Sep 11: Final (Dubai)
India vs. Pakistan: Asia Cup History
Total Matches Played – 14
India Won – 8
Pakistan Won – 5
Records of Previous 14 India vs. Pakistan Asia Cup Encounters
1984 Asia Cup: India won by 54 runs.
1988 Asia Cup: India won by 4 wickets.
1995 Asia Cup: Pakistan won by 97 runs.
1997 Asia Cup: Match abandoned because of rain.
2000 Asia Cup: Pakistan won 44 runs.
2004 Asia Cup: Pakistan won by 59 runs.
2008 Asia Cup: India won by 6 wickets in the group stage match. However, later on, Pakistan defeated India in the Super Four stage.
2010 Asia Cup: India won by 3 wickets.
2012 Asia Cup: India won by 6 wickets.
2014 Asia Cup: Pakistan won by 1 wicket.
2016 Asia Cup: India won by 5 wickets.
2018 Asia Cup: India won by 9 wickets.
India vs. Pakistan – Asia Cup Stats
Most Runs For India in Asia Cup vs. Pakistan – Rohit Sharma -328
Most Runs For Pakistan in Asia Cup vs. India- Shoaib Malik – 400
Most Wickets For India In Asia Cup vs. Pakistan – Hardik Pandya – 3
Most Wickets For Pakistan In Asia Cup vs. India: Mohammed Amir – 8
Asia Cup 2022
The Asia Cup 2022 will be played in the T20 format as a dress rehearsal for the T20 World Cup that is around the corner. This will be the second time that Asia Cup will be played in the shortest format after 2016, which India won by defeating the hosts Bangladesh.
In 2016, India, under the captaincy of MS Dhoni, defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets in a last-ball finish to clinch their seventh title.
The tournament will start with a qualifying round featuring Kuwait, UAE, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The winning team will Join India and Pakistan in Group A, while Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka will be placed in Group B. Each participating team will play the other two in the group once in the first round, with the top two teams progressing to the Super 4 stage.
All 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.
The India-Pakistan matches are the tournament's main attraction, and expectedly, the ACC has ensured at least two such matches. If both the teams qualify for the final, it will extend to three games.
Wrapping Up
Both India and Pakistan are set to face off with each other again at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 when they battle at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. However, before that, the Asia Cup T20 match will give India another opportunity to test their performance against the Men in Green and take revenge for last year's defeat. For all the latest cricket news, live scores, results, rumors, and player profiles from around the world follow https://cbtfspeednews.com/.