Bangladesh has been grouped with defending champion Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan. Two arch-rivals India and Pakistan have been put in the same group with a qualifier team in the six-nation Asia Cup Cricket 2023 scheduled for September. President of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and secretary of the  Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Jay Shah confirmed it  while announcing the cricket calendar of the council for the year 2023 and 2024 on Thursday. The ACC boss said that the ensuing Asia Cup will be played in 50-over format in September this year, though the itinerary and the host country have not been announced yet. Pakistan is the original host of the Asia Cup this year but the BCCI is not keen on playing there owing to political tension between the two countries. The Asia Cup 2023 will be a six-team affair involving India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and a qualifier team. Sri Lanka are the defending Asia Cup champions after beating Pakistan in the final of the last tournament played in T20 format ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia. With India set to host the ODI World Cup later this year and the focus of all the participating teams being on the 50-over format, so this year’s Asia Cup will be held in ODI format. Read more: India reclaim Women's Asia Cup crown

India lifted the title of the Women's Asia Cup 2022 after hammering Sri Lanka in the final by eight wickets in Sylhet Saturday. The women in blue won a record-extending seventh Asia Cup title after losing it to Bangladesh in 2018. In the final, Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat first. But they managed to score 65-9 in 20 overs. Six of their first batters failed to reach a double-digit. Inoka Ranaweera, Sri Lanka's No. 10, was the top run (18) scorer for the islanders. Read: Women’s Asia Cup: Bangladesh endure shocking defeat to Sri Lanka For India, Renuka Singh bagged three wickets, Sneh Rana and Rajeshwari Gayakwad scalped two each. It took the women in blue only 8.3 overs to win the match. Smriti Mandhana scored 51. "We should give credit to the bowlers. And the fielding unit was very good today from ball one," Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur said after the match. "We didn't want to give them easy runs as every ball is important, proud of the way we performed today." Renuka won the player of the final award and Deepti Sharma player of the tournament trophy. "Tough day as a team, not a good batting display in the final; I'm really upset today," Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu said. "Next we have the T20 World Cup, and we learned a lot from this tournament. And as a batting unit, we have to stick to our plans." In the last edition of the Women's Asia Cup, Bangladesh beat India in the final to lift their maiden title. But this year, Bangladesh failed to qualify for the semis.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) started a three-day preparation camp on Monday involving the national team players, and some selected players from the high-performance unit and Bangladesh Tigers programme. After the disastrous Asia Cup, this is the first preparation camp of the Bangladesh team. A total of 33 players are part of this camp. They took part in a match-scenario practice session on Monday. BCB will announce the squad for the T20 World Cup, which will begin in Australia in October, this week. It is understood that the ongoing camp is formed to test the players for the last time ahead of the World Cup squad announcement. Also read: 6 must watch T20I series before ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2022 Bangladesh might bring a few changes to the World Cup squad overlooking some players who took part in the Asia Cup. As Mushfiuqr Rahim retired from the T20 format, a new face will surely find a place to replace him and that might be Nurul Hasan Sohan who missed the Asia Cup due to an injury. Mahmudullah Riyad, who failed to impress in recent matches, may also get another chance in the squad for his experience. However, Khaled Mahmud, the team director and former captain, said he is not sure if Mahmudullah is in the Bangladesh squad for the World Cup. “We didn't get what we expect from him,” Mahmud said on Monday. “Mahmudullah is our match-winner. We have to remember it. He has some innings that helped Bangladesh to bring up big wins. So he is under our consideration. But we have to wait until we make a final call.” Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh captain in T20Is, kept the expectation low ahead of the Asia Cup. But he might have not thought that Bangladesh would perform so badly and lose all the matches in the group stage. After an early exit from the event, Shakib said Bangladesh need more head than heart in T20Is to do well in the coming days. Also read: Incredible Sri Lanka win Asia Cup as Pakistan collapse at final hurdle Bangladesh will play five matches in the Super 12s round of the World Cup. The Tigers will take the field in their first match on October 24 while their other matches are on October 27, 30, and on November 2 and 6. The top two teams from each group of the Super 12s round will qualify for the Semifinals which will be played on November 9 and 10. The final of the World Cup will be played on November 13 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Sri Lanka have outclassed Pakistan with the bat, outsmarted them with the ball, and outdid the Green Shirts in the field in Dubai to win the Asia Cup for the sixth time. Batting first, Sri Lanka lost a few quick wickets before Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Wanindu Hasaranga came to their team's rescue. It was the fourth Asia Cup final between Sri Lanka and Pakistan. In the last three, Sri Lanka won twice. Chasing Sri Lanka's 170, Pakistan were bowled out for 147. Mohammad Rizwan and Iftekhar Ahmed tried their best, but the other batters failed to do enough. Rizwan hit 55 and Iftikhar 32. But the only other batter who reached double-digits was Haris Rauf, usually a bowler. He made 13. For Sri Lanka, Pramod Madushan, the right-arm pacer, took four wickets for 34 runs in four overs. Hasaranga picked up three and Chamika Karunaratne two. Pakistan were never in a position to win the match after the first few overs of the match. They picked up some quick wickets, but Sri Lankan batting slowly crawled back to life after being temporarily frozen. Earlier, Rajapaksa smashed an outstanding 71 off 45 balls to power Sri Lanka to 170 for six. Put in to bat first, Sri Lanka lost five wickets in just 58 runs. Pakistan made a great start by sending three Sri Lankan batters back to the dressing room inside the powerplay. Naseem Shah picked up Kusal Mendis in the first over. Kusal made a golden duck. Sri Lanka also lost Pathum Nissanka (8), Danushka Gunathilaka (1) and Dasun Shanaka (2) in quick succession. Dhananjaya de Silva scored 28 to bring Sri Lanka back on track after the initial blow. Rajapaksa and Hasaranga scored 58-run on the sixth wicket. Hasraranga fell prey to Haris Rauf for 36 off 21 balls. Chamika Karunaratne's 14-run cameo also helped the Lankans put up a good total on board. For Pakistan, Haris Rauf bagged three wickets conceding 29 runs while Naseem, Shadab Khan and Iftikhar took one wicket each.  

In their last Super 4 match of the Asia Cup, Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by five wickets in a dead rubber in Dubai Friday night.  Sri Lanka proved once again how good they are at chasing. Pakistan batted first and were bowled out for 121 in 19.1 overs.  Wanindu Hasaranga picked up three wickets, Pramod Madushan and Maheesh Theekshana two wickets each. Pakistan captain Babar Azam was the highest runs scorer (30) for his team. Mohammad Nawaz scored 26.  Read: Asia Cup: Pakistan win thriller against Afghanistan to make the final Chasing 122, Pathum Nissanka guided Sri Lanka to an easy win although his side lost a few early wickets.  Kusal Mendis and Danushka Gunathilaka made ducks. However, Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Dasun Shanaka held firm under pressure. Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain bagged two wickets each, but Hasan Ali and Usman Qadir conceded more than eight runs per over – which cost Pakistan a lot in a match. These two teams will lock the horns in the final of the Asia Cup on September 11. 

India outplayed Afghanistan by 101 runs in their last Asia Cup match Thursday in the United Arab Emirates' Dubai. Virat Kohli hit a ton in this match – his first after more than 1,000 days – and guided India to a big win. Batting first after losing the toss, India posted 212. Afghanistan scored 111 for eight in 20 overs. Ibrahim Zadran remained unbeaten on 64 off 59 balls with four fours and two sixes. Mujeeb Ur Rahman scored 18. Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up five wickets for four runs in four overs. Arshdeep Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin and Deepak Hooda took one wicket each. Earlier, Lokesh Rahul fell prey to Fareed Ahmad for 62 off 41 balls with six fours and two sixes. But Virat stood like a rock at the other end of the wicket. Lokesh and Virat added 119 runs in the opening stand. Virat completed his hundred off 53 balls. With a six off Fareed, Virat reached the magical figure. He remained unbeaten on 122 off 61 balls, the highest individual T20 score by an Indian batter, with 12 fours and six sixes. In the group phase, Afghanistan beat both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh; India outplayed Pakistan and Hong Kong. But in the Super 4, both Afghanistan and India lost to Pakistan. Pakistan and Sri Lanka will take on each other in the final on September 11. Before that, they will play another match on September 9 – the last match in the Super 4— whose result will be inconsequential. Also read: Asia Cup: Pakistan win thriller against Afghanistan to make the final  

India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was ruled out of the remainder of the Asia Cup because of a knee injury, the Board of Control for Cricket in India said Friday. Left-arm spinner Axar Patel will replace Jadeja, who played a crucial role in India’s five-wicket victory over archrival Pakistan with a knock of 35 off 29 balls. The BCCI didn’t reveal when Jadeja injured his right knee but said he’s “currently under the supervision of (the) BCCI medical team” in the United Arab Emirates.   India has already qualified for the Super 4 stage of the tournament and will face either Pakistan or Hong Kong on Sunday. Afghanistan and Sri Lanka have also reached the next round. Read: Jadeja breaks South Africa's resistance after Hamza's 62

Sri Lanka won a thriller chasing 184 and knocked Bangladesh out of the ongoing Asia Cup Thursday night in the UAE. Put in to bat first, Bangladesh scored 183 and Sri Lanka chased it down with three balls to play and two wickets to spare. Kusal Mendis (60 off 37) and captain Dasun Shanaka (45 off 33) led the Lankans to the next phase of the tournament. In the last four overs, Sri Lanka needed 43 runs with Shanaka and Karunaratne at the crease. Mustafizur Rahman gave away 9 runs in the 17th over, and Mahedi Hasan also conceded as many runs in the 18th. Eabadot Hossain, who bagged three wickets in the match, conceded 17 runs in the 19th over. In the last over, Mahedi failed to defend eight runs. Earlier, Bangladesh scored 183-7. Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mosaddek Hossain helped the Tigers post a total that they could defend. Bangladesh changed their opening pair in the match, dropping Anamul Haque Bijoy and Mohammad Naim and paving the way for Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Sabbir Rahman. The plan worked for the Tigers. However, Sabbir failed to impress despite hitting a four off the first ball he faced in international cricket after a break of three years. Mehidy scored 38 off 26 balls with two sixes and two fours and Bangladesh scored 55-1 – the highest powerplay total in the ongoing Asia Cup so far. After Sabbir fell, Mushfiqur Rahim failed once again (4 off 5). Shakib scored 21 off 22 with three fours and completed 6,000 runs in T20s – both international and domestic. In the first 10 overs, Bangladesh scored 85-3. In the next five overs, their score stood at 123-4. Afif anchored Bangladesh during the middle overs. Before falling prey to Dilshan Madushanka, he scored 39 off 22 balls with four fours and two sixes. In the fifth wicket stand, Afif and Mahmudullah Riyad added 57 runs off 37 balls. In the last five overs, Bangladesh scored 60 runs. Mosaddek scored 29 off 9 balls with four fours. Taskin Ahmed scored 11 off six balls with a six. For Sri Lanka, Hasaranga and Chamika Karunaratne scalped two wickets each. With this win, Sri Lanka qualified for the next phase of the Asia Cup as the second team after Afghanistan from Group B. Bangladesh ended their Asia Cup campaign without a win. Read: Asia Cup 2022: Bangladesh Vs Sri Lanka Match Live Streaming

Dhaka, Sept 1 (UNB) — Bangladesh lost the toss and were sent to bat first in their make-or-break clash against Sri Lanka in the ongoing Asia Cup Thursday.  The Tigers made three changes to their playing XI.  Anamul Haque Bijoy, Mohammad Naim and Mohammad Saifuddin were rested to pave way for Sabbir Rahman, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Ebadot Hossain. Bangladesh lost their first match against Afghanistan by seven wickets where Bijoy and Naim failed to impress. Sabbir is making a comeback to T20s after three years.  Read: Asia Cup 2022: Bangladesh, Sri Lanka seek solutions to their top-order batting woes The winners of today's match will qualify for the Super 4. Afghanistan already booked a place in the next phase, beating both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in their first two matches.  Bangladesh (Playing XI)  Sabbir Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim (w), Shakib Al Hasan(c), Afif Hossain, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mustafizur Rahman, and Ebadot Hossain Sri Lanka (Playing XI)   Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (w), Charith Asalanka, Danushka Gunathilaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dasun Shanaka(c), Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Dilshan Madushanka, and Asitha Fernando

Bangladesh will start their Asia Cup campaign Tuesday with the match against Afghanistan who are flying high after beating Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the event opener. Despite being a more experienced side than Afghanistan, Bangladesh are far behind them in the shortest format of the game. The Afghans lost a series earlier this month against Ireland, but they came back strongly against Sri Lanka to make a flying start to the Asia Cup. Their pacers ripped through the Sri Lankan batting order. However, Bangladesh all-rounder Mehidy Hasan said they are not tagging Afghanistan as a bad or good team. "We are looking forward to proving our mettle in the field." In the first match of the Asia Cup, Afghan pace duo Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq destroyed Sri Lanka's batting. Read: Asia Cup 2022: 8 milestones within sight of Bangladesh players Chasing 105 runs, Hazratullah Zazai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz won the match in 10.1 overs. And in the absence of Liton Das, Bangladesh might go with Anamul Haque and Mohammad Naim as the openers. Naim was axed earlier from the T20 team. Now he is back after hitting a century in a 50-over match for Bangladesh A team against the West Indies A. Mohammad Saifuddin and Sabbir Rahman, who were out of international cricket for a long time, are surprising inclusions in the playing XI. However, Bangladesh will heavily rely on Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah Riyad and Mushfiqur Rahim. With this match against Afghanistan, Shakib will become the third Bangladeshi to play 100 T20s after Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur. The match will begin at 8pm Tuesday and will be telecast live on T-Sports. Probable Bangladesh XI Mohammad Naim, Anamul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Afif Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah Riyad, Sabbir Rahman, Mahedi Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Nasum Ahmed, and Mustafizur Rahman