India will play Pakistan on 2 September in Kandy in the 2023 Asia Cup, which is scheduled to start on 30 August, according to a report in ESPNCricinfo. The tournament opener will be played in Multan with hosts Pakistan playing Nepal with the final scheduled in Colombo on 17 September.
“Those matches feature in the latest version of the draft schedule which is likely to see further changes before the ACC announces the final version. The original draft schedule, prepared by the PCB (the hosting board), has already undergone several iterations mainly because of the six-nation tournament being played in Pakistan and Sri Lanka based on the hybrid model approved by the ACC recently,” it said.
It was further mentioned that all of the 13 matches in the competition are scheduled to start at 1pm Pakistan Standard Time (1.30pm IST). Pakistan are grouped with India and Nepal in Group A, whereas Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are in Group B.
"The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super Four stage with the top two teams in this phase advancing to the final. The Asia Cup, which will be played in the 50-overs format this time, is essentially a preparation run for five of the six teams - barring Nepal - for the ODI World Cup which begins from October 5 in India,” the report added.
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