Advertisement
Advertisement
Cricket Hong Kong
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
Hong Kong captain Nizakat Khan with his man of the match award after the game against Singapore at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier. Photo: Cricket Hong Kong

Hong Kong set to face India and Pakistan if they win Asia Cup qualifier in Oman

  • Arch-rivals drawn in Group A for main tournament in Dubai, with winner of qualifier facing India on August 28
  • Hong Kong will play Singapore, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates for right to play in Asia Cup

Games against India and Pakistan await the winner of this month’s Asia Cup qualifier in Oman, after the archrivals were drawn in Group A for the T20 tournament in the UAE.

Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates will battle it out for a spot in the main competition, which also includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Originally expected to be held in Sri Lanka, the qualifying matches and the Asia Cup itself have been moved to different venues because of the unstable political situation in the island nation.

Sri Lanka’s captain Dimuth Karunaratne (left) and Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam pose with the Test trophy after Sri Lanka won the second cricket Test match against Pakistan. Photo: AFP

The qualifier starts on August 20, when Hong Kong take on Singapore, with the UAE playing Kuwait the following day in their opener. The last round of matches on August 24 pits Hong Kong against UAE, in a game likely to decide who wins the right to face the full member sides in Duabi and Sharjah.

India and Pakistan will meet in Dubai on August 28, a day after the tournament opens with the Group B clash between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. The side that comes through the qualifier will face India three days later, and Pakistan on September 2.

The top two from the groups advance to a Super 4 in which every team plays each other. The final is on September 11.

India won the last Asia Cup in 2018 when it was played in the one-day international format.

Pakistan, meanwhile, have dropped underperforming fast bowler Hasan Ali for the tour of the Netherlands and the Asia Cup.

The 28-year-old was player of the tournament in Pakistan’s Champions Trophy win in 2017.

But Hasan took just three wickets in two Tests in Sri Lanka last month, claimed only three wickets for 222 runs in his last three one-day internationals and went wicketless in two of his last three Twenty20 internationals.

In statement, chief selector Mohammad Waseem said Hasan had been “given a break from international cricket” and would be replaced by Naseem Shah.

Pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi will also rest for the three-match ODI series in the Netherlands on August 16, 18 and 21 before coming back for the Asia Cup.

Pakistan Asia Cup squad: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Junior, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir

Post