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Kris Sears |
While the whole cricket world is focused on the ICC T20 World Cup, the Asia Cup cannot be ignored. It is a crucial tournament that helps teams to solidify their squads. The Asia Cup 2022 cricket competition will feature six Asian teams. The tournament will kick off on August 27, with the final scheduled for September 11. Moreover, the competition will use the T20 format and will allow the participating teams to tune up before the impending ICC T20 World Cup scheduled for later this year in Australia.
Teams
Six teams will take part in the 15th edition of the continental championship. Five Test-playing nations have earned direct qualification to the tournament. The five that have already qualified include:
- India
- Pakistan
- Sri Lanka
- Afghanistan
- Bangladesh
United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Kuwait, and Hong Kong will play a qualifying round to grab the remaining spot. The qualifiers will begin on August 20. All the participating teams made it to the last qualifying round after progressing in their regional qualifiers.
Cricket fans can brace themselves for some amazing entertainment in the coming days. If you are a cricket fan who loves playing online poker at your favorite online casino you’ll have extra entertainment in the coming days. Top Asian teams will be locking horns to separate the boys from men.
In the meantime, Team India has won the highest number of Asia Cup titles, having won it seven times. Sri Lanka has the second highest Asia Cup titles, with five to their name.
The Schedule
The tournament’s official schedule has been released. It will begin on August 27 and end on September 11, and each team will play the other team in the group once. After that, the top two teams from each group will qualify for the second stage, called the Super Four. The four teams in the last stage will play each other once then the top two teams will qualify for the final.
The venue shifted from Sri Lanka
The tournament was initially to be held in Sri Lanka. However, the tournament was moved to the United Arab Emirates due to political unrest in the island nation.
Team News
Nurul Hasan Sohan will not feature for the Bangladesh team in the Asia Cup 2022 because of a finger injury. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB revealed this setback). Sohan suffered the injury during the second T201 against Zimbabwe.
On the other hand, India’s pacer, Harshal Patel, will also miss the tournament due to injury. According to reports, Patel sustained a side strain meaning he won’t feature for his nation in the tournament. Bangladesh batter Liton Das is also likely to miss the 2022 Asia Cup thanks to a hamstring injury.
Here is the schedule:
Group A
- India vs. Pakistan, August 28 in Dubai
- India vs. Qualifier, August 31 in Dubai
- Pakistan vs. Qualifier, September 2 in Sharjah
Group B
- Sri Lanka vs. Afghanistan, August 27 in Dubai
- Bangladesh vs. Afghanistan, August 30 in Sharjah
- Sri Lanka vs. Bangladesh, September 1 in Dubai
Super 4
- B1 vs. B2, September 3 in Sharjah
- A1 vs. A2, September 4 in Dubai
- A1 vs. B1, September 6 in Dubai
- A2 vs. B2, September 7 in Dubai
- A1 vs. B2, September 8 in Dubai
- B1 vs. A2, September 9 in Dubai
Final
- 1st Super 4 vs. 2nd Super 4, September 13 in Dubai
Predictions
India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan have registered excellent performances. India were the T20 series winners and are among the favorites to win the tournament. Also, since the competition is in the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan might have the upper hand since it plays a lot of cricket in the UAE.
India’s biggest concern will be the form of their premier batsman, Virat Kohli. The batsman has not scored a century in the previous 80 international appearances. He will have to improve his performance; otherwise, her spot in the T20 World Cup squad might be in jeopardy.
On the flip side, Pakistan are another formidable team. They have performed exceptionally in the T20 format. They boast multiple outstanding talents like Babar Azam, Md Rizwan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi. If these players perform well, they can be a very lethal team. For example, if Pakistan replicates their ICC T20 World Cup 2021 performance, they’ll be unstoppable.
Bangladesh are the underdogs, but they have always given the “big” teams a run for their money. Their performance in the recent ODI series will be a morale booster as they head to this tournament.
Final Thoughts
It is an exciting time for cricket fans globally. They’ll be treated to top-quality cricket action in the coming months.
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