Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has announced free entry for spectators in the upcoming women’s T20 Asia Cup beginning from Friday, July 19 in Sri Lanka. Notably, the ninth edition of the continental tournament will be hosted by the Island edition with all 15 matches taking place at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Dambulla.
A total of eight teams will be seen participating in the event namely Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, UAE, Nepal, Malaysia, and Thailand. Ahead of the tournament, Sri Lanka Cricket Vice President Mr Ravin Wickramaratne said that the board is aiming to host a successful tournament which will help advance women’s cricket on the world stage.
“Sri Lanka Cricket, with the support of the Asian Cricket Council, is planning to conduct a highly successful tournament, as a successful outcome of this tournament will help advance women’s cricket on the world stage,’ said Ravin Wickramaratne in a press release.
The eight participating teams have been divided into two groups for the tournament. India has been put in Group A alongside Pakistan, UAE and Nepal. On the other hand, Group B includes Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
India to start campaign against Pakistan
The tournament will feature a total of 15 matches with the final set to be played on July 28. The opening game of the event will be played between the UAE and Nepal on July 19 in Dambulla, while India will begin their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan at the same venue later in the day. The continental event set to be held in the T20 format will serve as a dress rehearsal for the women’s T20 World Cup scheduled to be held later this year in Bangladesh from October 3.
India are the defending champions of the event having won the trophy in the previous edition held in 2022. The Women in Blue are also the most dominant team of the tournament having won seven out of the eight editions contested so far with Bangladesh being the only other winner in 2018.
The BCCI announced the squad for the event a few days back and retained most of the players from the recently concluded T20I series against South Africa, leaving
Source Agencies
