Asia's men’s cricket championship is finally slated to start on August 27 in the United Arab Emirates after being repeatedly postponed due to the COVID-19 epidemic. The full Asia Cup 2022 schedule was released on August 2 by the ACC. The fifteenth edition of the Asia Cup was planned to take place in Pakistan in September 2022. The ACC later revealed that Sri Lanka will host the 2022 Asia Cup while Pakistan will host the 2023 edition. However, Sri Lanka will not be able to host the event in their country due to the political and economic crisis. Instead, the tournament will be held in the United Arab Emirates from August 27 to September 11. Let's look at the 2022 Asia Cup's teams, groups, full fixtures, and venues.

Who will play whom in the Asia Cup 2022 group phase?

With the Twenty20 World Cup in mind, the fifteenth edition of the Asia Cup will be played in the T20 format. There will be two groups in the forthcoming 2022 Asia Cup. India, Pakistan, and the winner of the qualifier will play in Group A. On the other hand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan will take on each other in Group B.

The final phase of the qualifier competition will be held just before the main event. The teams who will compete in the qualifier are the UAE, Kuwait, Singapore, and Hong Kong. The champion team from the qualifier will advance to the main event of the Asia Cup 2022.

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The top two teams in each group will advance to the Super Four round, where each team will play against each other. The top two teams in the points table from the Super Four round will qualify for the final. India and Pakistan are expected to qualify from Group A, while there will be stiff competition between Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan in Group B to earn a place in the next phase.

Venues for the 2022 Asia Cup

After Sri Lanka’s inability to host the Asia Cup 2022, the UAE was the most preferable option for ACC. On July 27, the Asian Cricket Council confirmed that the fifteenth edition of the Men’s Asia Cup competition will be held in the UAE. This is the fourth time the United Arab Emirates will organize a men’s Asia Cup event.

Six nations will compete in the main event of the Asia Cup Cricket competition in 2022. There will be a total of 13 matches, including the final. Two venues in the UAE, Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai and Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah, will host the entire tournament. Dubai will host ten matches, while Sharjah will host the rest of the three matches. No matches will be played at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

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Asia Cup 2022 Venues with Notable T20I Stats 

   Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/

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Complete fixtures for the Asia Cup 2022

As per the Asia Cup 2022 schedule, the tournament will be opened with a match between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan on August 27. Bangladesh will play their first match against Afghanistan on August 30. Besides, the most anticipated contest in the group stage between India and Pakistan will be held on August 28 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The championship match will be held in Dubai on September 11. All the matches of the tournament will start at 8 p.m. (Bangladesh Standard Time). Here is the full fixture for the 15th edition of the Asia Cup.

Asia Cup 2022 full fixtures

   Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/

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A look back at past winners of the men’s Asia Cup cricket

The first edition of the Asia Cup cricket competition was staged in the year 1984 in the United Arab Emirates. India won the inaugural edition of the tournament, while Sri Lanka finished second.

Sri Lanka are the only country to have taken part in all editions of the tournament. Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India have participated 13 times. India have dominated the Asia Cup competition with a record 7 titles. Sri Lanka have won the tournament five times, while Pakistan have won it twice.

Bangladesh have hosted the Asia Cup men’s cricket tournament a record five times, but they have never won it. However, Bangladesh’s recent record in the competition has been quite impressive. They have reached the final thrice in the previous four events but lost the finals to Pakistan (2012) and India (2016, 2018).

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The first twelve editions of the Asia Cup were in the ODI format. In 2016, the Asia Cup was hosted in a Twenty20 format for the first time. India won the inaugural T20 format Asia Cup by beating Bangladesh in the final by eight wickets. The 2022 edition will be the second time an Asia Cup will be held in the shortest format of the game. Let’s take a look at the past winners and runner-ups of the Asia Cup cricket competition.

Asia Cup: Roll of Honour

   Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia_Cup

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Aftermath

Asian countries have experience of playing international fixtures in the UAE, so neither team will face any major trouble adjusting to the conditions. The Asia Cup 2022 schedule confirms a blockbuster India vs Pakistan contest in the group stage, which many have regarded as a dress rehearsal for the final. The Indian cricket team has always dominated the Asia Cup cricket tournament, while Sri Lanka and Pakistan are in second and third position, respectively, in terms of overall performance. Bangladesh have performed well in recent tournaments, reaching three of the last four. In this year’s event, India will once again start as hot favourites and Pakistan will be their main competitor to clinch the title.