Asia Cup 2018 is scheduled to take place from September 13 to 28 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The tournament was originally scheduled to be held in India, but due to the political tensions with Pakistan, the Asia Cup 2018 was then shifted to UAE. This year’s Asia Cup will be a six-team event with teams like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan already confirmed. The sixth team will be picked from a qualifying tournament which will be played between hosts UAE, Hong Kong, Nepal, Singapore, Malaysia, and Oman.

The six teams have been divided into two groups of three each. Group A consists of India, Pakistan and the qualifying team. Group B, on the other hand, features Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. Each team will play two group-stage matches and the two teams from each group will progress to Super-Four round. It’s India vs Pakistan in Cricket This September! Asia Cup 2018 Shifted to UAE.

In the Super-Four round, each team will play three matches. Top two teams from Super-Four round will qualify for the finals. Chances are India and Pakistan will meet thrice in this year’s edition. First during the group-stage match, which is confirmed. Both the teams are likely to make it to Super-Four round and hence will face-off again. Both India and Pakistan are favourites to make it to the finals as well and that could well be the third meeting between the arch-rivals.

Likely Asia Cup 2018 Complete Schedule

Matches Group Date Venue
Pakistan vs Qualifier Group A 13 September 2018 TBD
Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka Group B 13 September 2018 TBD
India vs Qualifier Group A 14 September 2018 TBD
Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka Group B 14 September 2018 TBD
Bangladesh vs Afghanistan Group B 15 September 2018 TBD
India vs Pakistan Group A 17 September 2018 TBD
Group A Winner vs Group B Runner-up - 20 September 2018 TBD
Group B Winner vs Group A Runner-up - 21 September 2018 TBD
Group A Runner-up vs Group B Runner-up - 22 September 2018 TBD
Group A Winner vs Group B Winner - 23 September 2018 TBD
Group A Winner vs Group A Runner-up - 24 September 2018 TBD
Group B Winner vs Group B Runner-up - 26 September 2018 TBD
Asia Cup 2018 FINAL - 28 September 2018 TBD

India come into the tournament as defending champions. In 2016, India defeated Bangladesh to win the title. The 2016 edition was played in T20 format as it was followed by the World T20. This year, the Asia Cup will return to original format of 50 overs, which One-Day Internationals (ODIs).

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 24, 2018 03:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).