Asia Cup 2022: The Revamped Format Explained – What’s New?

The revamped Asia Cup 2022 to be played in T20 style as we look at the detailed explanation of the brand new format along with qualifiers. 

We are just a week away from the beginning of the much-awaited Asia Cup 2022. This year’s tournament holds a lot of significance, primarily for two reasons. One, Heavyweights India and Pakistan will clash at least twice in the tournament. Second, the tournament will be played in T20 format; the format that is encouraged everywhere these days. 

The Asia Cup 2022 will be played from August 27 to September 11, 2022, in UAE (Sharjah and Dubai).  All matches shall begin from 7:30 pm IST to cater to the Asian audience. The Asia Cup Council has kept the format flexible as a prelude to the big tournament that will be played that year. While 2018 was a prelude to the 2019 ODI World Cup, the 2022 edition is a prelude to the T20 World Cup 2022. 

With the tournament switching to the T20 format and the addition of qualifiers, there are a few more changes to the format as compared to how it was played before. So, let’s look at the detailed explanation for the brand new format of Asia Cup 2022. 

Asia Cup Teams

The Asia Cup 2022 will be officially played between 6 teams. The confirmed teams that are going to participate include India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. In addition, there will be one more team that will be confirmed from the Asia Cup Qualifier 2022. But, what is the Asia Cup Qualifier 2022?

Asia Cup Qualifier 2022

Well, the Asia Cup Qualifier 2022 is a pre-tournament event that will be played between four teams, viz., Hong Kong, Kuwait, Singapore, and UAE. The winner of this event shall be eligible to play the Asia Cup 2022 along with the other 5 teams as stated above. 

The Qualifier format is very simple. Each team will play a total of three matches with one match each against the other three opponents. In the end, the team with the maximum points will qualify for Asia Cup 2022. In case of a tie, the team with a better NRR will qualify. Meanwhile, the Qualifier will be played from August 20 to August 24, 2022. 

To recap, the 2022 Asia Cup Qualification (Prelude to Asia Cup 2022 Qualifier) was played between the  Eastern Group Teams and Western Group teams. The Eastern Group included teams like Hong Kong, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, and Thailand. Whereas the Western Group included teams like Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Maldives, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Finally, Hong Kong and Singapore from the Eastern group and Kuwait and UAE from the Western Group advanced further for the Asia Cup 2022 qualifier.  

Asia Cup 2022 Group Stage Format

The six teams for Asia Cup 2022 are divided into 2 Groups. India, Pakistan, and Qualifier are placed in Group A. Whereas Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan are placed in Group B. Each team within the group will play a match each against their opponent. That means a total of 2 matches per team. The group stage matches will be played from August 27 to September 2, 2022. 

Super Four Format

The top two teams from each group will then advance to the Super four. The Super four format is similar to Qualifier where each team will play once against each opponent. That means a total of 3 matches per team. In the end, the top two teams in the table will play the Final on September 11, 2022. 

So, that’s how the Asia Cup 2022 is been designed in a revamped format. The tournament is always an exciting addition to the otherwise boring bilateral series. With the India vs Pakistan match happening twice, the excitement would be double this time around. 

Thanks for reading! Do you like the Asia Cup 2022 format? Please email your comments to business@cricalytics.com

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Adesh Kothari

Adesh Kothari is the founder of AK4Tsay1 Cricalytics with over 20 years of experience following Cricket.

Cricket to him is like what Football is to Lionel Messi, Singing is to Lata Mangeshkar, Dancing is to Michael Jackson, and Acting is to Clint Eastwood.

Besides his effervescent love for Cricket, Adesh is an MBA by qualification.