Asia Cup 2018: ACC announces the schedule of the Qualifiers

Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has announced the schedule of the qualifying tournament for the upcoming Asia Cup. Six teams will battle it out for one place in the main competition and the winning side is set to face India and Pakistan in Group A. The qualifiers will commence on August 29 in Malaysia and the matches will be played at Kinrara Oval, Bayuemas Oval and UKM Oval.

Hong Kong, Nepal, Oman, UAE, Singapore and the hosts will lock horns during the nine-day period in order to seal their place in the main draw. All the teams will play each other in a round-robin phase after which the top two will qualify for the final which will be played on September 6 at Kinrara Oval. All the matches will begin at 10 AM local time.

Nepal won the ODI status earlier this year with a sparkling performance in the World Cup Qualifiers held in Zimbabwe. They have a great chance to prove that their showing in that competition was not one-off and they have really improved over the year and thoroughly deserve the status.

UAE to host Asia Cup

Asia Cup will commence this year on September 15 with a game between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the United Arab Emirates. All the games will be played in Dubai and Abu Dhabi as the blockbuster clash between the arch-rivals India and Pakistan is scheduled to be played on September 19.

The format of the tournament is changed this time around as two teams will progress from each group and compete in the Super 4 stage. India and Pakistan are most likely to meet again and if all goes well, they might lock horns for the third time in 12 days in the final of the Asia Cup on September 28 in Dubai.

Here’s the schedule of the qualifiers:

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