The 2018 Asia Cup fixtures have been released on Tuesday. Six Asian teams will participate in this competition where a total of 13 matches will be played from September 15 to 28.
The 14th edition of Asia Cup cricket will be played in ODI format in United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is the third time for UAE to host Asia Cup, after the inaugural edition in 1984 and the fifth edition in 1995. The matches will be played at Dubai International Cricket Stadium (Dubai) and Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium (Abu Dhabi).
In 2018 Asia Cup, six teams will participate. The six teams are – six-time champions (including the T20 format) India, five-time champions Sri Lanka, two-time champions Pakistan, two-time runners-up Bangladesh, Afghanistan and the champion of the Qualifier. The arch-rivals India and Pakistan are seeded in the Group A along with the Qualifier while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan will fight in the Group B.
Prior to the beginning of 2018 Asia Cup, the Qualifier will be played between six teams in the first half of September. Hong Kong, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Singapore, and UAE will feature in the Qualifier where only the champion of the tournament will advance for the main tournament.
The 2018 Asia Cup will kick-off on September 15 with the match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. India will play their both group matches in consecutive days on September 18 and 19. The 2016 T20 Asia Cup champions India will meet against Pakistan in the Group Stages on September 19.
The final Group Stages match will be played on September 20 between Bangladesh and Afghanistan. At the end of the Group Stages, top two teams from each Group will qualify for the Super Four where each team will play against all other teams once from September 21 to 26. It means once again each team will play with their one Group Stages team during the Super Four round.
The top two teams in the final points table will advance for the final that will be played on September 20 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium (Dubai).
In the 2018 Asia Cup, two teams can play against each other for thrice if the same Group teams will qualify for the final. It means cricket fans can observe the India-Pakistan clash for thrice in this competition.
Group Stage teams
Asia Cup 2018 full schedule
Group Stage
15 September – Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka (Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai)
16 September – Pakistan vs Qualifier (Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai)
17 September – Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan (Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi)
18 September – India vs Qualifier (Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai)
19 September – India vs Pakistan (Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai)
20 September – Bangladesh vs Afghanistan (Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi)
Super Four
21 September – Group A Winner vs Group B Runner-up (Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai)
21 September – Group B Winner vs Group A Runner-up (Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi)
23 September – Group A Winner vs Group A Runner-up (Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai)
23 September – Group B Winner vs Group B Runner-up (Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi)
25 September – Group A Winner vs Group B Winner (Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai)
26 September – Group A Runner-up vs Group B Runner-up (Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi)
Final
28 September – Asia Cup 2018 Final (Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai)
