The Asia Cup 2018 is all set to start from September 15 which will see all the major Asian Teams vie for the title. In one of the key clashes of the tournament, India will play Pakistan on September 19. However, the problem is while Pakistan get a two-day break after playing their first game, India play two back to back games on 18th and 19th September with one game against a qualifying nation.
While a BCCI official called the scheduling of the tournament "mindless", former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag voiced for the boycotting of the tournament by Team India.
However, former Australian cricketer, Dean Jones has a different viewpoint altogether regarding the issue. he says with the kind of match fitness these Indian players have it will not be a problem for the team to play back to back games.
“We used to play a lot of back-to-back one-day matches in our time, so why are the players complaining now? They play five-day Test matches. I remember on an England tour, we played 11 days in a row three times. I know it’s a bit warm, but that’s why they get the big bucks these days,” Jones told IANS.
“I have got no problem (in India playing two days consistently). Fatigue might be a problem, but these guys are athletes and unbelievably fit. They will be fine. I could say this, no one will die.”
India and Pakistan are placed in Group A along with a qualifier while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are in Group B. The one qualifier spot is yet to be decided amongst UAE, Singapore, Oman, Nepal, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
Asia Cup 2018 full schedule
Group Stage
15 September – Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka (Dubai)
16 September – Pakistan vs Qualifier (Dubai)
17 September – Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)
18 September – India vs Qualifier (Dubai)
19 September – India vs Pakistan (Dubai)
20 September – Bangladesh vs Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)
Super Four
21 September – Group A Winner vs Group B Runner-up (Dubai)
21 September – Group B Winner vs Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
23 September – Group A Winner vs Group A Runner-up (Dubai)
23 September – Group B Winner vs Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
25 September – Group A Winner vs Group B Winner (Dubai)
26 September – Group A Runner-up vs Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Final
28 September – Asia Cup 2018 Final (Dubai)
(Inputs from IANS)
