While Pakistan are the official hosts of the tournament, a major part of the 2023 Men’s Asia Cup will be played in Sri Lanka, with only four games to be hosted by Pakistan.

The six teams that are set to feature in this tournament are as follows: the five ICC Full Members – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, and tournament debutants Nepal.

The Asia Cup has been aligning its format with the next ICC event for some time. Keeping in tune with this year’s World Cup in India, the 2023 Asia Cup will be played in ODI format.

India, Pakistan, and Nepal have been pitted in Group A, and Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan in Group B. The top two teams from each group will proceed to the Super Four, from where the top two teams will qualify for the knockouts.

The Asia Cup began in 1984, soon after India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Singapore had set up the Asian Cricket Council, the first regional organisation to host international cricket and generate profit without objection from any board or the ICC.

The first Asia Cup featured only India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. India opted out of the second, in Sri Lanka, but Bangladesh were invited. Bangladesh also hosted the 1988 edition, were invited to India in 1990 in Pakistan’s absence, and are the only nation to host five times as well as three consecutive editions, in 2012, 2014, and 2016.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, are the only team to have featured in every edition of the tournament. They have hosted the Men’s Asia Cup four times, as have the UAE.

The ACC also launched the Women’s Asia Cup in 2004. The eight editions of the women’s version have been played across seven nations, including China, Thailand, and Malaysia.

Asia Cup venues: Host countries for the Asia Cup in each edition | Asia Cup 2023

Men’s Asia Cup

1984: UAE (no final)
1986: Sri Lanka (final: Colombo – SSC)
1988: Bangladesh (final: Dhaka)
1990/91: India (final: Calcutta)
1995: UAE (final: Sharjah)
1997: Sri Lanka (final: Colombo – Premadasa)
2000: Bangladesh (final: Dhaka)
2004: Sri Lanka (final: Colombo – Premadasa)
2008: Pakistan (final: Karachi)
2010: Sri Lanka (final: Dambulla)
2012: Bangladesh (final: Mirpur)
2014: Bangladesh (final: Mirpur)
2016: Bangladesh (final: Mirpur)
2018: UAE (final: Dubai)
2022: UAE (final: Dubai)
2023: Pakistan and Sri Lanka (final: Colombo)

Women’s Asia Cup

2004: Sri Lanka (no final)
2005/06: Pakistan (final: Karachi)
2006: India (final: Jaipur)
2008: Sri Lanka (final: Kurunegala)
2012: China (final: Guangzhou)
2016: Thailand (final: Bangkok)
2018: Malaysia (final: Kuala Lumpur)
2022: Bangladesh (final: Sylhet)