The 14th edition of Asia Cup will be held in the United Arab Emirates, starting Saturday (September 15). The continental cricket tournament will feature six teams – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong. This is the third time UAE is hosting the tournament, after 1984 and 1995.
India are the defending champions, albeit in a different format, while Hong Kong are taking part in the tournament as the winner from the qualifier. The teams are divided in two groups, A and B, with the top two finishers making it to the Super Four. Then, the two top teams from the Super Four will play each other in the final.
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Only three teams have lifted the trophy so far – India six times, Sri Lanka five times and Pakistan twice. Last edition of the tournament was played in the T20I format, with India beating Bangladesh in the final in Dhaka.
Here's everything you need to know about the tournament:
Venues
Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
TV & Live Streaming
TV: Star Sports 1, Star Sports Hindi and Star Sports Tamil
Live Streaming: Hotstar
Groups
A - Hong Kong, India and Pakistan
B - Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
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Fixtures
Group Phase
September 15: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka (Group B), Dubai
September 16: Pakistan vs Hong Kong (Group A), Dubai
September 17: Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka (Group B), Abu Dhabi
September 18: India vs Hong Kong (Group A), Dubai
September 19: India vs Pakistan (Group A), Dubai
September 20: Afghanistan vs Bangladesh (Group B), Abu Dhabi
Super Four matches will be played from September 21 to 26, and the final is scheduled for September 28 in Dubai.
Squads
Afghanistan: Asghar Afghan (c), Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Ihsanullah Janat, Javed Ahmadi, Rahmat Shah, Hashmat Shahidi, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Najibullah Zadran, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Aftab Alam, Samiullah Shenwari, Munir Ahmad Kakar (wk), Sayed Ahmad Sherzad, Sharafudin Ashraf, Wafadar Momand
Bangladesh: Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Shakib Al Hasan (vc), Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Mithun, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Ariful Haque, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan, Nazmul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Hider Rony, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Mominul Haque
Hong Kong: Anshuman Rath (c), Aizaz Khan, Babar Hayat, Cameron McAulsan, Christopher Carter (wk), Ehsan Khan, Ehsan Nawaz, Arshad Mohammad, Kinchit Shah, Nadeem Ahmed, Raag Kapur, Scott McKechnie, Tanveer Ahmed, Tanwir Afzal, Waqas Khan, Aftab Hussain
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan (vc), KL Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Kuldeep Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Khaleel Ahmed
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Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (c & wk), Fakhar Zaman, Imam Ul Haq, Shan Masood, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Haris Sohail, Shadab Khan, Muhammad Nawaz, Fahim Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir, Junaid Khan, Usman Shinwari, Shaheen Afridi
Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (c), Kusal Perera (wk), Kusal Mendis, Upul Tharanga, Niroshan Dickwella, Danushka Gunathilaka, Thisara Perera, Dasun Shanaka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Akila Dananjaya, Dilruwan Perera, Amila Aponso, Kasun Rajitha, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera, Lasith Malinga
