 | |
| Dates | 30 August – 17 September 2023 |
|---|---|
| Administrator | Asian Cricket Council |
| Cricket format | One Day International |
| Tournament format(s) | Groupround-robin andplayoffs |
| Hosts |
|
| Champions |  India (8th title) |
| Runners-up |  Sri Lanka |
| Participants | 6 |
| Matches | 13 |
| Player of the series | Kuldeep Yadav |
| Most runs | Shubman Gill (302) |
| Most wickets | Matheesha Pathirana (11) |
←2022 2025 → | |
The2023 Men's Asia Cup, also known asSuper 11 Asia Cup for sponsorship,[1] was the 16th edition of the men'sAsia Cupcricket tournament. The matches were played asOne Day Internationals (ODIs) withPakistan as the official host for the 2nd time.[2][3][4][5] It was held in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, between 30 August to 17 September 2023.[6][7] It was the first Asia Cup to be held in multiple countries, with four matches played in Pakistan and the remaining nine matches played in Sri Lanka.[8][9][3] The tournament was contested by 6 teams.[10]Sri Lanka were the defending champions.[11]
The fivefull members of theAsian Cricket Council were part of the tournament:Afghanistan,Bangladesh,India,Pakistan andSri Lanka. They were joined byNepal, who qualified by winning the2023 ACC Men's Premier Cup. For the first time, the tournament was held in a "hybrid format" with the games organised in two countries. All teams played at least a few games in Pakistan, except for India, who refused to travel to Pakistan due to disapproval from theIndian government.[12][13][14] In January 2023, theAsian Cricket Council (ACC) announced the pathway structure and calendar for 2023 and 2024,[15][16] where they confirmed the dates and format of the tournament.[17] Originally, the tournament was scheduled to take place in 2021, but was postponed to 2023 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. The fixtures for the tournament were announced on 19 July 2023.[18] India defeated Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in thefinal to win their eighth Asia Cup title; with a record number of balls remaining (263).
In June 2020, following a meeting with theAsian Cricket Council (ACC), thePakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said they would be willing to let Sri Lanka host the2020 Asia Cup,[19] with India unwilling to travel to Pakistan.[20] The ACC issued a press release following the meeting stating that "in light of the impact and consequences of theCOVID-19 pandemic, possible venue options for the Asia Cup 2020 were discussed and it was decided to take the final decision in due course".[21] In July 2020, an official announcement of the postponement was made by the ACC.[22] The 2020 edition was rescheduled to take place inSri Lanka in June 2021.[23]
In March 2021, the tournament was at risk of a further postponement afterIndia qualified for the final of theWorld Test Championship, which clashed with the proposed dates in June.[24] The tournament was postponed once again to 2023.[25] In May 2021, the ACC announced that the 2021 tournament would be deferred to 2023, citing that it would be difficult to schedule the tournament due to the continued impact of COVID-19 on the scheduling of other cricket events.[26][27] Pakistan was scheduled to host the2022 Asia Cup after retaining the rights to host the 2022 edition.[28] However, in October 2021, following a meeting with the ACC,Ramiz Raja confirmed that Pakistan would host the tournament in 2023, with Sri Lanka hosting the 2022 edition.[29]
In October 2022, theBoard of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary and ACC PresidentJay Shah announced that India would not travel to Pakistan, citing security concerns, and that the Asia Cup 2023 would take place in a neutral venue.[30] In December 2022, the then PCB chairmanRamiz Raja said that Pakistan might consider pulling out of the tournament if their hosting rights were withdrawn because of India's unwillingness to travel to Pakistan.[31] However, in January 2023, ACC confirmed the teams and groups of the tournament, with both India and Pakistan taking part.[32]
ThePakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had threatened to boycott the2023 Cricket World Cup if theBoard of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) refused to send a team to the 2023 Asia Cup scheduled in Pakistan.[33][34] In March 2023, it was proposed that Pakistan remain as hosts and that all India matches - including at least two India-Pakistan contests - would be played at a neutral venue yet to be confirmed.[35] The hybrid model proposed by Pakistan was rejected by Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.[36] In response, PCB ChairmanNajam Sethi proposed two options. The first option was that India play all their matches at a neutral venue with Pakistan hosting the rest of the teams. The second option was that four matches in the group stage take place in Pakistan whereas the second phase, in which matches played by the Indian team followed by the next stage matches including the final, be played at a neutral venue. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh agreed to the second option.[37]
On 15 June 2023, theAsian Cricket Council announced that the tournament would be organized in a hybrid model with four matches being held in Pakistan, and the remaining nine in Sri Lanka.[38]
The groups and format of the tournament were announced on 9 January 2023, with the six teams split into two groups of three.[39] A total of 13 matches will be played, which includes six league matches, six Super 4 matches, and a final.[40]India,Pakistan andNepal, champions of the qualifier event (2023 ACC Men's Premier Cup), were placed in Group A, while the defending champions Sri Lanka was grouped withBangladesh andAfghanistan in Group B.[41] The top two teams from each of the groups will progress to the Super 4. From there, the top two teams will play each other in the final.[42]
Pakistan and India were seeded asA1 &A2, and Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were seeded asB2 &B1.In case Nepal and Afghanistan qualify for the Super Four stage, they will take the slot of the team knocked out (Pakistan or India in Group A and Sri Lanka or Bangladesh in Group B).[13][43]
The fivefull members of theAsian Cricket Council qualified automatically for the tournament whileNepal qualified for the main tournament for the first time through2023 ACC Men's Premier Cup, was held in April/May 2023 in Nepal, defeating theUAE in the final.[44]
| Means of qualification | Date | Hosts | Berth(s) | Qualifier(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICC Full Member | — | — | 5 |  Afghanistan Bangladesh India Pakistan Sri Lanka |
| 2023 ACC Men's Premier Cup | 18 April — 2 May 2023 |  Nepal | 1 | Nepal |
| Total | 6 |
| Afghanistan[45] | Bangladesh[46] | India[47] | Nepal[48] | Pakistan[49] | Sri Lanka[50] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ahead of the tournament,Ebadot Hossain was ruled out of Bangladesh's squad due to an injury and was replaced byTanzim Hasan Sakib.[51]Saud Shakeel was added to Pakistan's squad, withTayyab Tahir moved into the reserves.[52]Sanju Samson was added to India's squad as reserves.[53] Initially, on 30 August 2023,Liton Das was ruled out from Bangladesh's squad for the entire tournament with aviral fever, withAnamul Haque named as his replacement.[54] However after missing out Bangladesh's initial two matches, Das joined the squad after he was declared fit on 2 September 2023.[55] On 5 September 2023,Najmul Hossain Shanto was ruled out of Bangladesh squad for rest of the tournament after he sustained a hamstring injury during their Group Stage match against Afghanistan.[56] On 13 SeptemberNaseem Shah was ruled out of Pakistan squad for rest of the tournament after he sustained a shoulder injury during their Super Four match against India.[57] On 16 SeptemberAxar Patel was ruled out of India squad for the Asia Cup Final after he sustained multiple injuries during their Super Four match against Bangladesh, he was replaced byWashington Sundar[58] Ahead of the final,Maheesh Theekshana was ruled out of Sri Lanka's squad due to sustaining hamstring injury and was replaced bySahan Arachchige.[59]
| Pakistan | Sri Lanka | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Lahore | Multan | Colombo | Kandy |
| Gaddafi Stadium | Multan Cricket Stadium | R. Premadasa Stadium | Pallekele International Cricket Stadium |
| Capacity: 27,000[60] | Capacity: 30,000[61] | Capacity: 35,000[citation needed] | Capacity: 35,000[citation needed] |
| Matches: 3[citation needed] | Matches: 1[citation needed] | Matches: 6[citation needed] | Matches: 3[citation needed] |
 |  |  |  |
International Cricket Council (ICC) andAsian Cricket Council (ACC) jointly appointed the following match officials for the tournament.[62]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pakistan(H) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4.760 |
| 2 | India | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1.028 |
| 3 | Nepal | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3.572 |
Advances toSuper Four
v | ||
Pakistan won by 238 runs Multan Cricket Stadium,Multan Umpires:Chris Gaffaney (NZ) andMasudur Rahman (Ban) Player of the match:Babar Azam (Pak) |
v | ||
No result Pallekele International Cricket Stadium,Kandy Umpires:Richard Illingworth (Eng) andRuchira Palliyaguruge (SL) |
v | ||
Rohit Sharma 74* (59) |
India won by 10 wickets (DLS method) Pallekele International Cricket Stadium,Kandy Umpires:Paul Wilson(Aus) andRuchira Palliyaguruge (SL) Player of the match:Rohit Sharma (Ind) |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sri Lanka(H) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.594 |
| 2 | Bangladesh | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.373 |
| 3 | Afghanistan | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −0.910 |
Advances toSuper Four
v | ||
Sri Lanka won by 5 wickets Pallekele International Cricket Stadium,Kandy Umpires:Jayaraman Madanagopal (Ind) andPaul Wilson (Aus) Player of the match:Matheesha Pathirana (SL) |
v | ||
Bangladesh won by 89 runs Gaddafi Stadium,Lahore Umpires:Asif Yaqoob (Pak) andLangton Rusere (Zim) Player of the match:Mehidy Hasan (Ban) |
v | ||
Sri Lanka won by 2 runs Gaddafi Stadium,Lahore Umpires:Asif Yaqoob (Pak) andChris Gaffaney (NZ) Player of the match:Kusal Mendis (SL) |
As tournament organisers, thePakistan Cricket Board announced that 11 September would be a reserve day for the Super Four clash between India and Pakistan.[65] If the reserve day is triggered, the match will continue on 11 September from the point it was suspended.[66]
India became the first team to qualify for the final after they beat Sri Lanka by 41 runs on 12 September. They made the tournament's final for the tenth time.[67] Two days later, Sri Lanka made their 12th final, 11th in the ODI format of the tournament, after they defeated Pakistan by two wickets in a rain-disrupted match.[68]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1.759 |
| 2 | Sri Lanka | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | −0.134 |
| 3 | Bangladesh | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −0.469 |
| 4 | Pakistan | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −1.283 |
Advanced to theFinal
v | ||
Pakistan won by 7 wickets Gaddafi Stadium,Lahore Umpires:Ahmed Shah Pakteen (Afg) andLangton Rusere (Zim) Player of the match:Haris Rauf (Pak) |
v | ||
Sri Lanka won by 21 runs R. Premadasa Stadium,Colombo Umpires:Jayaraman Madanagopal (Ind) andPaul Wilson (Aus) Player of the match:Sadeera Samarawickrama (SL) |
v | ||
India won by 228 runs R. Premadasa Stadium,Colombo Umpires:Chris Gaffaney (NZ) andRuchira Palliyaguruge (SL) Player of the match:Virat Kohli (Ind) |
v | ||
India won by 41 runs R. Premadasa Stadium,Colombo Umpires:Masudur Rahman (Ban) andRichard Illingworth (Eng) Player of the match:Dunith Wellalage (SL) |
v | ||
Sri Lanka won by 2 wickets (DLS method) R. Premadasa Stadium,Colombo Umpires:Ahmed Shah Pakteen (Afg) andLangton Rusere (Zim) Player of the match:Kusal Mendis (SL) |
v | ||
Bangladesh won by 6 runs R. Premadasa Stadium,Colombo Umpires:Asif Yaqoob (Pak) andRichard Illingworth (Eng) Player of the match:Shakib Al Hasan (Ban) |
v | ||
Shubman Gill 27* (19) |
India won by 10 wickets R. Premadasa Stadium,Colombo Umpires:Richard Illingworth (Eng) andAhmed Shah Pakteen (Afg) Player of the match:Mohammed Siraj (Ind) |
The top five highest run scorers (total runs) in the tournament are included in this table.[86]
| Player | Runs | Innings | NO | Average | SR | HS | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shubman Gill | 302 | 6 | 2 | 75.50 | 93.49 | 121 | 1 | 2 | 35 | 6 |
| Kusal Mendis | 270 | 6 | 0 | 45.00 | 85.71 | 92 | 0 | 3 | 27 | 5 |
| Sadeera Samarawickrama | 215 | 6 | 0 | 35.83 | 89.21 | 93 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 2 |
| Babar Azam | 207 | 4 | 0 | 51.75 | 97.64 | 151 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 4 |
| Mohammad Rizwan | 195 | 4 | 2 | 97.50 | 94.20 | 86* | 0 | 2 | 19 | 3 |
The top seven wicket-takers in the tournament are included in this table.[87]
| Player | Wickets | Innings | Runs | Overs | BBI | Econ. | Ave. | 5WI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matheesha Pathirana | 11 | 6 | 270 | 40.5 | 4/32 | 6.61 | 24.54 | 0 |
| Mohammed Siraj | 10 | 4 | 122 | 26.2 | 6/21 | 4.63 | 12.20 | 1 |
| Dunith Wellalage | 6 | 179 | 42.0 | 5/40 | 4.26 | 17.90 | 1 | |
| Shaheen Afridi | 5 | 235 | 41.00 | 4/35 | 5.73 | 23.50 | 0 | |
| Kuldeep Yadav | 9 | 4 | 103 | 28.3 | 5/25 | 3.61 | 11.44 | 1 |
| Haris Rauf | 4 | 120 | 25.00 | 4/19 | 4.80 | 13.33 | 0 | |
| Taskin Ahmed | 4 | 172 | 33.3 | 4/44 | 5.13 | 19.11 | 0 |
This is the list of channels for theIndian subcontinent only.[citation needed]
| Territory | Rights holder(s) |
|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Ariana Television Network |
| Bangladesh | Gazi TV BTV National |
| India | Star Sports |
| Nepal | |
| Pakistan | PTV Sports Ten Sports |
| Sri Lanka | TV 1 |
Even though Pakistan are the official hosts of the tournament, the Indian government didn't allow the team to travel to Pakistan, which meant the contest had to take place at a neutral venue: Pallekele in Sri Lanka.
Eventually, common sense prevailed as a compromise was struck with Pakistan to retain hosting duties but nine of the 13 matches will be played in Sri Lanka, including all of India's games and the final on September 17.
