The 2022 Asia Cup is scheduled to be the 15th edition of the Asia Cup cricket tournament, with the matches being played as Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) during August and September 2022 in Sri Lanka. Originally scheduled to be held in September 2020, the tournament was postponed in July 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was then rescheduled to take place in Sri Lanka in June 2021, before being postponed to again. Pakistan were scheduled to host the tournament after retaining the rights to host the 2022 edition. However, in October 2021, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) announced that Sri Lanka would host the tournament in 2022, with Pakistan hosting the 2023 edition. India are the defending champions.
Background
In December 2018, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) were granted the rights to host the tournament by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). However, it was unclear if the matches will be played in Pakistan or the United Arab Emirates. After the announcement was made, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) requested that the PCB change the event’s venue due to ongoing security concerns. Pakistan last held a multi-team international tournament in 2008, with the 2008 Asia Cup. Since then, only a handful of international matches have taken place in Pakistan following the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team.
In May 2019, the ACC confirmed that Pakistan will host the tournament. The decision to host the tournament in Pakistan raised doubts over India’s participation, with the ongoing political tension between the two countries. In October 2019, the decision to host the tournament in Pakistan was still to be agreed by the ACC, due to doubts raised over India’s participation. In January 2020, various news outlets reported that Pakistan would not be hosting the tournament, due to their ongoing political tensions with India.
On 28 February 2020, the BCCI President Sourav Ganguly stated that “the Asia Cup will be held in Dubai and both India and Pakistan will play.” The following day, Ehsan Mani Chairman of the PCB, contradicted Ganguly’s statement, saying that the venue has not been finalised. Initially, The ACC was scheduled to meet on 3 March 2020 to discuss the location of the tournament, but the meeting was moved back until the end of March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 7 March, Mani said that the tournament would be played at a neutral venue. The following month, he admitted that the tournament may not take place at all due to the pandemic.
In June 2020, following a meeting with the ACC, the PCB said they would be willing to let Sri Lanka host the tournament, with India unwilling to travel to Pakistan. The ACC issued a press release following the meeting stating that “in light of the impact and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, possible venue options for the Asia Cup 2020 were discussed and it was decided to take the final decision in due course”. In July 2021, an official announcement of the postponement was made by the ACC. In March 2021, the tournament was at risk of a further postponement after India qualified for the final of the World Test Championship, which clashed with the proposed dates in June.
The qualifier tournament had been postponed in July 2020. In May 2021, the ACC confirmed that there would be no Asia Cup in 2021, with that edition of the tournament deferred until 2023. In October 2021, following a meeting with the ACC, Ramiz Raja confirmed that Pakistan would host the following tournament in 2023, with Sri Lanka hosting the 2022 edition. A qualification tournament is scheduled to be played from 20 August 2022.
Teams and qualifications
| Means of qualification | Date | Host | Berths | Qualified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICC Full Member | N/A |  Sri Lanka |
5 |  Afghanistan Bangladesh India Pakistan Sri Lanka |
| Qualifier | 20 August 2022 | Sri Lanka |
1 | |
| Total | 6 |
The qualifier tournament is scheduled to be contested in August 2022, by the UAE and Kuwait, who progressed from the 2020 ACC Western Region T20, as well as Singapore and Hong Kong, who came through the 2020 ACC Eastern Region T20.