 "India are the reigning Asia Cup champions, beating Sri Lanka in the final in 2023. AP")
India will host the upcoming Men’s Asia Cup tournament in the T20 format in 2025, serving as a lead-up to the T20 World Cup scheduled for 2026 in the country, according to the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in its Invitation for Expression of Interest (IEOI).
Since its introduction as a T20 event in 2016, the Asia Cup has acted as a preparatory tournament for the global competition, utilising the format that will be featured in the World Cup.
The 2023 edition, organised by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), was conducted in a ‘Hybrid Model’ due to India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan, resulting in India’s matches to being played in Sri Lanka.
The 2027 Asia Cup will take place in an ODI format in Bangladesh, coinciding with the 50-over World Cup set to be played in South Africa that same year.
Both the T20 Asia Cup in India and the ODI edition in Bangladesh in 2027 will feature 13 matches each, accounting for a total of 26 games.
The ACC’s IEOI clarified that the ‘Men’s Asia Cup Tournament’ refers to the biennial senior men’s cricket event managed by the ACC, which includes participation from Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and one Non-Test playing ACC member selected through qualifying events.
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More ShortsIndia, the reigning Asia Cup champions, have won three of the last four editions of the tournament, having defeated Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in last year’s 50-over final held in Colombo.