Bangladesh-SL encounter to kick-start 2018 Asia Cup
Sports Reporter
Bangladesh are all set to play against Sri Lanka in the 2018 Asia Cup opener on September 15 in the United Arab Emirates, as the schedule of the tournament was released on Tuesday.
The regional tournament would revert to its traditional 50-over ODI format this year after being played as T20 format in 2016, hosted by Bangladesh, which India eventually won. Basically keeping the World T20 in 2016 in mind, the format was changed that time.
Bangladesh will play their second match against Afghanistan in the group stage which will be held on September 20.
Overall six teams are participating in the tournament, dividing into two groups. Bangladesh were placed in Group B alongside Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. Group-A consists of defending champions India, Pakistan and the qualifier.
The top two teams from each group would proceed to a Super 4 round where Top 4 teams would play each other in round robin to decide the two finalists. The final will be held on 28 September in Dubai.
The qualifier tournament featuring Hong Kong, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Singapore and UAE will be held in India in September, with the winner joining the rest of the five teams in the main draw.
Defending champions India will play the winner of the Asia Cup qualifiers on September 18, before taking on arch-rivals Pakistan the very next day with these three teams getting paired in the other group.
India suspended bilateral cricket ties with Pakistan after the 2008 Mumbai attacks but the two teams continue to play each other in international tournaments, including the Champions Trophy final in England last year.
This years Asia Cup was originally set to be held in India but was shifted to the United Arab Emirates because of strained relations between New Delhi and Islamabad.
Full schedule:
Group Stage
September 15 - Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka (Dubai)
September 16 - Pakistan vs Qualifier (Dubai)
September 17 - Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)
September 18 - India vs Qualifier (Dubai)
September 19 - India vs Pakistan (Dubai)
September 20 - Bangladesh vs Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)
Super Four
September 21 - Group A Winner vs Group B Runner-up (Dubai)
September 22 - Group B Winner vs Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
September 23 - Group A Winner vs Group A Runner-up (Dubai)
September 24 - Group B Winner vs Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
September 25 - Group A Winner vs Group B Winner (Dubai)
September 26 - Group A Runner-up vs Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Final
September 28 - TBD vs TBD (Dubai)
