Fierce rivals Pakistan and India will meet in Sri Lanka on September 2 for their first one-day international clash in four years, according to the Asia Cup schedule announced on Wednesday.
The six-nation tournament starts August 30 with four matches in Pakistan and the remaining nine in Sri Lanka – including the highly anticipated Indo-Pak match in Kandy.
The Sri Lankan capital Colombo will host five Super Four stage games, as well as the final on September 19.
Pakistan, India and Nepal are in Group A while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are in Group B.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super Four stage, and if both Pakistan and India qualify, they will meet again in Colombo on September 10.
The top two teams from Super Four stage will play the final.
The Asia Cup will be played to 50-overs to allow five of the six teams – excluding Nepal – to tune up for the ODI World Cup from October 5 to November 19.
The Asia Cup fixture announcement ends a year-long stand-off after India refused to tour the host country Pakistan because of political tensions, raising doubts over the holding of the event.
Earlier this month, a hybrid model was agreed upon, with four matches in Pakistan and the remaining nine in Sri Lanka.
The Asia Cup, first played in 1984, was also victim to strained relations after India withdrew from the event in 1986, and Pakistan did not participate four years later.
The South Asian rivals only play in multi-national events with their last bilateral series in 2012.
Their last ODI was in the 2019 World Cup in England.
Asia Cup schedule:
30 August - Pakistan v Nepal, Multan
31 August - Bangladesh v Sri Lanka, Kandy
2 September - Pakistan v India, Kandy
3 September - Bangladesh v Afghanistan, Lahore
4 September - India v Nepal, Kandy
5 September - Afghanistan v Sri Lanka, Lahore
6 September - A1 v B2 (Super-4), Lahore
9 September - B1 v B2 (Super-4), Colombo
10 September - A1 v A2 (Super-4), Colombo
12 September - A2 v B1 (Super-4), Colombo
14 September - A1 v B1 (Super-4), Colombo
15 September - A2 v B2, (Super-4), Colombo
17 September - Final - 1 v 2, Colombo
18 September - Reserve day for the final
Zaka Ashraf (left), chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, and retired Pakistan player Mohamed Hafeez during the unveiling of the Asia Cup 2023 trophy at a ceremony in Lahore on Wednesday. (AFP)
