The Asia Cup, once considered a mini version of the World Cup, has gradually turned into a preparation platform for the World Cup. Whichever World Cup is held that year, be it in the ODI format or T20I, the Asia Cup will be cast in the same format. Last year when the Asia Cup was held in the UAE, it was Sri Lanka’s cricket team that came out victorious and won the title in the T20 format. But this time, the Asian sides will face each other in the game’s 50-over format. But why is that so?
The ‘format’ of the Asia Cup
Although the Asia Cup boasts some of the best teams in the world, including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, etc., the tournament is still seen as a ‘preparatory’ event. Nowadays, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) organizes the Asia Cup in the same year as the World Cup takes place. Whichever format of the World Cup it is (T20 or 50-over), the Asia Cup takes that form. Given the way the game has grown, Asian teams tend to take advantage of this approach.
The tournament started all the way back in 1984 in the ODI format, but things changed after the introduction of T20s. The last ODI Asia Cup was held in 2019, the same year the last World Cup was held in this format. It was the Indian team that took the title that year. But it wasn’t even an all-Indian squad taking part in the event.
The talisman of the team, Virat Kohli, who was also the captain of the team at the time, did not participate in the event and handed over to his deputy Rohit Sharma. In fact, even Rohit decided to rest in a match and put MS Dhoni in charge.
The 2023 edition will be co-hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka. This event also marks Nepal’s debut in the tournament. Nepal booked their ticket to the event by winning the first ACC Men’s Premier Cup 2023 where they defeated the United Arab Emirates in the final.
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