The schedule for the Asia Cup 2023 was announced on Wednesday and former Pakistani opener Salman Butt is not happy about it. He openly questioned the scheduling despite the 2023 Asia Cup edition marking a historic moment as Pakistan and Sri Lanka will jointly host the tournament for the first time ever.

India’s matches will all be held in Sri Lanka, while Pakistan will face Nepal and one of the qualifying teams in the Super Fours on their home turf.

Out of the total thirteen matches, four will be played in Pakistan, while the remaining nine will be hosted by Sri Lanka, including the final in Colombo. The highly anticipated India-Pakistan clash will be held in Kandy, as both teams find themselves drawn in Group A.

However, there’s a difference in the scheduling for the two teams.

While Rohit Sharma’s men will play all their matches in Sri Lanka, Pakistan’s opening match in Group A will take place in Lahore before they travel to Sri Lanka for the India clash, with only a two-day gap between the two games in Asia Cup 2023.

Additionally, if Pakistan qualifies for the Super Fours, they will return to their home soil for the opening game of that round before heading back to Sri Lanka again.

The scheduling decision received criticism from Pakistan’s former captain, Salman Butt, who expressed his concerns over the lack of rest for Babar Azam’s team during the tournament.

“It’s a very strange schedule. Pakistan are playing their first match in Pakistan, then they will travel to Sri Lanka for the second match. On the other hand, Sri Lanka will play their first match in their home, and when they have to travel to Pakistan for the second game, they have a 4-5 days gap,” Butt said.

“Pakistan, who are originally the host nation, have only got two days gap. We never cared about our players.”

However, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president, Jay Shah, clarified that regardless of their positions after the first round, Pakistan will remain A1, and India will remain A2. If either of them fails to qualify, Nepal will take their place.

In the event that both arch-rivals make it to the Super Fours, their clash will occur in Colombo. Similarly, in Group B, Sri Lanka will remain B1, and Bangladesh will remain B2. If any of these teams fail to make it to the Super Fours, Afghanistan will take their position.