After a few years’ absence, the women’s Asia Cup has marked its return. The 2022 upcoming edition of the women’s Asia Cup is all set to be played from the 1st to the 16th of October at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Bangladesh. The tournament set to be played in the T20 format will feature 7 teams this time around.
There isn’t an official confirmation on the details of the tournament by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), but details of the tournament were confirmed to ESPNcricinfo by Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) women’s committee chairperson, Shafiul Alam Chowdhury Nadel which we share below.
Which teams are participating in Women’s Asia Cup 2022?
It is learnt that India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, UAE and hosts Bangladesh are the nations participating in the upcoming edition. All teams are scheduled to arrive in Bangladesh on the 27 and 28th of September.
Shafiul Alam Chowdhury, the women’s committee chairperson and the director of the board in his statement to ESPNcricinfo said, “The proximity to the airport and the hotel where the seven teams are expected to stay makes the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium the best choice for the BCB. Ground 1 of the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium is where we are looking to host the women’s Asia Cup matches and Ground 2 is where the training will take place.
“As host nation, Bangladesh has delivered several major men’s and women’s continental and world events in the past. This year, we are happy to welcome the Asian Cricket Council’s Women’s Asia Cup to our country for the first time, specifically to Sylhet, which was home to matches during the 2014 men’s and women’s T20 World Cups, too.”
Mark the dates for the Women’s Asia Cup 2022!
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— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) August 23, 2022
Bangladesh recently were named as the hosts of the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup by the ICC, Shafiul Alam Chowdhury said, “We are making all arrangements to welcome spectators, including school students, for all the matches of the Women’s Asia Cup because we want to generate substantial interest around women’s international cricket and the Bangladesh women’s team leading up to the 2024 T20 World Cup. We are planning on advertising both tournaments well given we are working with the ACC and ICC to make the Asia Cup and the 2024 T20 World Cup, respectively, a success.
“As things stand, we might even see the semi-final and final of the 2024 T20 World Cup also being played in Sylhet, so we are looking forward to putting up a good show for the Women’s Asia Cup. The ongoing 12th edition of the Women’s National Cricket League is also being played in Sylhet, so there’s already a fair bit happening in the city as far as women’s cricket, especially in the T20 format, goes.”
A look at Asia Cup winners over the years :
| YEAR | FORMAT | HOST | WINNER | WIN MARGIN | RUNNERS UP |
| 2004 | ODI | Sri Lanka | India | 5-0 | Sri Lanka |
| 2005-06 | ODI | Pakistan | India | 97-run | Sri Lanka |
| 2006 | ODI | India | India | 8-wicket | Sri Lanka |
| 2008 | ODI | Sri Lanka | India | 177-run | Sri Lanka |
| 2012 | T20I | China | India | 18-run | Pakistan |
| 2016 | T20I | Thailand | India | 17-run | Pakistan |
| 2018 | T20I | Malaysia | Bangladesh | 3-wicket | India |
No women’s international matches have been held in Bangladesh since Pakistan toured the country back in October 2018. The 2022 Asia Cup will also be the first time since the 2014 T20 World Cup that Sylhet will host any women’s international fixtures.
Formats in Women’s Asia Cup
The Women’s Asia Cup initially was played in the 50-over format and after 4 editions, the format was changed to 20-overs. India by far have been the most successful side in the tournament with 6 title wins to their name. It was Bangladesh in the 2018 edition, who denied India their 7th in a row with a 3-wicket win off the last ball in the final. The 2020 edition, which was scheduled to take place in Bangladesh and later postponed to 2021, was eventually canceled.
Among the seven teams set to play, UAE and Malaysia have booked their berths through the qualifying route after entering the final of the 10-team ACC Women’s T20 Championship that took place in June. UAE remained undefeated and finished as champions in the competition, handing a 5-wicket defeat to hosts, Malaysia.
ACC Women’s Championship
The 10 teams contesting at the ACC Women’s Championship were divided into two groups. Group A featured hosts Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Singapore and Oman. Unbeaten in the group, UAE with 7 points and Malaysia with 6 points advanced to the knockouts. Group B featured Bahrain, Bhutan, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Nepal and Oman of which Hong Kong remained unbeaten with 8 points and Nepal with a win in 3 games and a defeat totalling 6 points qualified for the knockouts.
The 1st knockout between UAE and Nepal saw UAE all-out for 81, but no further play was possible due to rain and UAE progressed to the final as they had a better net run rate during group stage matches. The 2nd knockout had play reduced to 11 overs for each side which saw Malaysia post 86 on board and then defend restricting Hong Kong to 74 to claim the win by 12 runs. The final has Malaysia post a total of 100 on board that UAE comfortably chased down with 5 wickets and 10 balls in hand.
