Sports Desk :
The Asia Cup Cricket 2016 begins today in Dhaka with the match between pre-tournament favourites India and the hosts Bangladesh. It will be the 13th edition of the tournament, the fifth to be held in Bangladesh, and the first to be played using the T20 format.
Five nations are taking part in the single league system, the top two meeting in the final on March 6. The three other teams are defending champions Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates, who qualified from a qualifier played from 19 to 22 February 2016.
India and Sri Lanka are favourites to clash in the final, while Pakistan and the UAE have not least chance to shine. On the other hand, Bangladesh are still to improve a lot in the T20 cricket for which they have to fight hard if they want to cause an upset.
It was originally 50-over match, full of excitement, romance and exultation. But it is still unclear why has the ICC changed the format?
However, the next edition of the championship will be held in 2018 under the old format ahead of the World Cup Cricket 2019 in England and again the competition will switch over to 20 overs a match in 2020.
So far India and Sri Lanka won five times each, while Pakistan captured the title twice only. The hosts team’s best prize was runners-up in 2012 at home.
