Asia Cup 2023 Schedule | Here's The Reason ACC Is Making A Delay

image-ljocnbhzIndian and Pakistani captain with Asia Cup trophy in 2018 (Twitter)

The upcoming edition of the Asia Cup will be co-hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka between August 31-September 17, but the schedule is yet to be released by the Asian Cricket Council.

According to a BCCI official (as reported by InsideSport), the delay in the announcement of the full schedule is due to the weather conditions in Colombo, which was a hot favourite to host the marquee India-Pakistan clash.

However, with the monsoon predicted to be in full flow during that time of the year, the match may well be awarded to Dambulla.

"There are some last-minute details to go over. The tentative schedule has been shared with the members. It should be out by this week. Colombo is an issue due to the monsoon season. We would have ideally hoped for the India vs Pakistan match in Colombo but rain could be an issue," a BCCI official told InsideSport.

For the uninitiated, the forthcoming edition of the continental cup was originally set to be hosted by Pakistan.

But, following BCCI's refusal to send the Indian team to Pakistan, the former PCB CEO Nazam Sethi came up with a hybrid model, which allows Pakistan to play their league games in their country, and India to play their quota of games in Sri Lanka.

India and Pakistan are clubbed in the same group alongside Nepal, while the second group is literally the 'Group of Death', with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to fight for the available two spots in the Super-4 stage.

This Asia Cup will be held in the ODI format. The last time it took place in this format, India were crowned champions for a record 7th time.

The previous edition of the tournament was held in a T20 format in the UAE, which Sri Lanka won by beating Pakistan in the final.