How the Asia Cup 2018 works

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ICC
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The Asia Cup begins on Saturday, 15 September in the United Arab Emirates. Do you know how the tournament works? We’ve got you covered!

Six sides will be battling it out for the trophy.

So, what’s the hype all about?

Well, to begin with, there is an India v Pakistan match! To add, Hong Kong, an Associate nation, will be rubbing shoulders with Full Member nations. Hong Kong sealed their berth after winning the Asia Cup Qualifier. Their matches too have been granted one-day international status by the International Cricket Council – a cherry on the cake!

Guess who Sri Lanka have recalled for their campaign – Lasith Malinga. While Afghanistan will be banking on their spin attack, Bangladesh have the ‘Fizz-factor’, with Mustafizur Rahman expected to return to peak form.

It’s worth the hype.

How many teams are participating in the 50-over tournament?

Six teams are vying for the title.

Group A: Hong Kong, India, Pakistan
Group B: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka

What is the format like?

There will be a total of 12 matches played across the two venues in UAE, culminating in the final at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on September 28.

In the first stage, the six teams are divided into two groups, A and B, with the three teams from each group playing the others in their group once. The top two from each group will then progress to the Super Four, where they will face all other teams once.

From there, the top two teams play each other in the final.

Sri Lanka have included fast bowler Lasith Malinga in the Asia Cup squad
Sri Lanka have included fast bowler Lasith Malinga in the Asia Cup squad

What are the venues?

The Dubai International Stadium in Dubai and Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi will be the venues for the tournament that runs from 15 to 28 September.

Squads

Afghanistan: Asghar Afghan (c), Mohammad Shahzad, Ihsanullah Janat, Javed Ahmadi, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Najibullah Zadran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Aftab Alam, Samiullah Shenwari, Munir Ahmad, Sayed Shirzad, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Yamin Ahmadzai

Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Mohammad Mithun, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Ariful Haque, Mahmudullah, 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, Ehsan Khan, Ehsan Nawaz, Arshad Mohammad, Kinchit Shah, Nadeem Ahmed, Nizakat Khan, Raag Kapur, Scott McKechnie, Tanveer Ahmed, Tanwir Afzal, Waqas Khan, Aftab Hussain

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, K Khaleel Ahmed

Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Shan Masood, Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Shoaib Malik, Haris Sohail, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Junaid Khan, Usman Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Asif Ali, Mohammad Amir

Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (c), Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Upul Tharanga, Shehan Jayasuriya, Thisara Perera, Dasun Shanaka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Akila Dananjaya, Dilruwan Perera, Amila Aponso, Kasun Rajitha, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera, Lasith Malinga, Niroshan Dickwella

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