What is the format of Asia Cup 2022?

The Asia Cup 2022 is set to get underway on August 27 in UAE and as many as six teams will battle it out for the prestigious trophy. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan all qualified directly for the group stages while four teams Kuwait, Hong Kong, UAE and Singapore fought for the remaining sixth position. The qualifiers took place recently and it was the Hong Kong side that emerged victorious in the tournament.

It has to be noted that the six teams have been divided into two groups. India, Pakistan and Hong Kong have been placed in Group A while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan have been placed in Group B. The tournament will kick off with Sri Lanka and Afghanistan playing each other at the Dubai International Stadium in a Group B fixture while it will be followed by the much-awaited India-Pakistan game on the very next day at the same stadium in the Group A fixture.

Coming to the format, three teams will play two games each against the members of their group and the top two sides from each group will qualify for the super four stages. The four teams in the super four stages will get to play three games in a round-robin method and the top two sides will qualify for the final which is scheduled to be held on September 11.

The previous edition of the tournament, held in 2018, followed the ODI format and India was able to bag the title by beating Bangladesh in the finals. Meanwhile this year, a total of 13 games will be played in the tournament, which would be helpful for the selectors to have a look at their combinations for the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australua. Initially, the tournament was set to be held in Sri Lanka, however, due to the economical situation in the country, the Asia Cup 2022 was moved to UAE.

The teams have started their training sessions ahead of the upcoming big assignments and recently, the India-Pakistan players were spotted interacting with each other ahead of their clash.