Pathway to Women’s Asia Cup 2024 announced by ACC

The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has announced fixtures for the 2023-24 season and we will witness a cumulative 145 games for the said period including the men’s and women’s fixtures. The cricketing calendars are primarily designed with the intention to pave the way for bringing together talented players while also providing a platform for quality cricket and a legacy for future generations of cricketers from the subcontinent and Asia at large.

In a list of exciting events for women’s cricket, we have

2023

June: Women’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup

Teams participating 

2024

March: Women’s T20 Challenger Cup

Teams participating – Asian Women’s Associate Teams (Ranking 9 to 18)- 10 teams

May: Women’s T20 Premier Cup

Teams participating- Asian Women’s Associate Teams (Ranking 5 to 8, Q1 and Q2)- 6 teams

September: Women’s T20 Asia Cup

Teams Participating

The understanding is that in the Women’s Challenger Cup, we have the Asian Women’s Associate Teams ranked from 9 to 18 participating, a total of 10 teams and 20 matches in the league stages which then culminates in the Semi-Finals and Finals. The winner and runner-up for this tournament will qualify for the Women’s Premier Cup.

The pathway to Women’s Asia Cup 2024 to be held in September next year was announced earlier today #AsiaCup2023 #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/To3zvn4jXD

— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) January 5, 2023

In the Women’s Premier Cup, we have the Asian Associate Teams ranked from 5 to 8 and Q1 and Q2 (the winner and runner-up of the Women’s Challenger Cup), a total of 6 teams in a round robin format squaring off in 15 matches in what would then culminate in a grand finale. In this tournament, the top two teams will qualify for the Women’s Asia Cup and the top four teams qualify for the Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup.

In the Women’s Asia Cup, we have India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Q1 and Q2 (the top 2 teams from the Women’s Premier Cup) and this will be a 6-teams round-robin event with 15 matches.

Last but not the least, we have the Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup that will feature India A, Sri Lanka A, Pakistan A, Bangladesh A and Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4 (the top 4 teams from the Women’s Premier Cup) with the league stages divided into Group 1 (4 teams) and Group 2 (4 teams) leading to a total of 12 matches with semi-finals and finals to cap off the tournament.

All in all, exciting tournaments await us as we get to witness a plethora of good, quality cricket through the time period of 2023 and 2024 and with the Associate teams and A teams also getting exposure at the global scale, the myriad of talented players pool will only increase!

Neha Shetty

I am a first year postgraduate student pursuing a MA in Media and Communication Studies at Christ University, Bengaluru. I am a podcaster, blogger and an avid cricket fan. When not glued to cricket matches, you can find me submerged in books and thinking about cricket all the time.