Pakistan to host four matches of ACC Asia Cup 2023

LAHORE: The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board Management Committee, Najam Sethi, has thanked the Asian Cricket Council for accepting his hybrid model for the ACC Asia Cup 2023. Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Nepal will contest the 16th edition of the competition, which runs from Aug. 31 to Sept.

17. A total of 13 matches will be played as one-day internationals, four of them in Pakistan and the rest in Sri Lanka. The tournament will feature two groups of three teams, with the first two in each making it through to the Super Four stage.

The top two teams of the Super Four will then meet in the final. Pakistan has not hosted a multi-nation cricket tournament since the six-team ACC Asia Cup 50-over event in 2008. In an official statement, Sethi said: “I am elated that our hybrid version for the ACC Asia Cup 2023 has been accepted.

This means the PCB will remain as the event host and stage matches in Pakistan, with Sri Lanka as the neutral venue, which was required due to the Indian cricket team’s inability to travel to Pakistan. “Our passionate fans would have loved to see the India cricket team in action in Pakistan for the first time in 15 years, but we understand the BCCI’s position. Like the PCB, the BCCI also requires government approval and clearance before crossing borders,” he said, referring to the Board of Control for Cricket in India.