Eighteen of the 19 matches at the upcoming T20 Asia Cup, including the final, will now begin at 6:30 pm local time, half an hour later than originally scheduled, to help teams and players cope with the extreme heat in the UAE.
With daytime temperatures forecast to touch the 40s in September, all day-night fixtures in the eight-team tournament have been rescheduled from 7:30 pm IST (6 pm local) to 8 pm IST (6:30 pm local). The only exception is the sole day game between UAE and Oman on September 15 in Abu Dhabi, which will start at 5:30 pm IST (4 pm local).
The competition opens on September 9 in Abu Dhabi with Afghanistan facing Hong Kong. Dubai will host 11 matches, including the September 29 final, while Abu Dhabi stages the remaining eight.
India, Pakistan, UAE and Oman form Group A, while Group B comprises Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Hong Kong. This will be the first Asia Cup to feature eight teams and be played entirely in the T20I format, aligned with preparations for the upcoming 2026 T20 World Cup to be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
India, the defending champions, will play UAE (September 10) and Pakistan (September 14) in Dubai before facing Oman (September 19) in Abu Dhabi. The top two sides from each group will progress to the Super Fours, with the best two contesting the September 29 final.
Sri Lanka are the reigning T20 Asia Cup winners, having beaten Pakistan in the 2022 edition