After months of speculation, the Asian Cricket Council has officially accepted Pakistan’s hybrid model for the upcoming Asia Cup, which will be played in August-September.

“We are delighted to announce that the Asia Cup 2023 will be held from 31st August to 17th September 2023 and will see the elite teams from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Nepal, compete in a total of 13 exciting ODI matches,” said ACC in the statement on Thursday.

In the announcement it said that the 50-over tournament will be played in two phases, first Pakistan will host four matches, while the remaining nine matches will be played in Sri Lanka.

The 2023 Edition will feature two groups, with two teams from each group qualifying for the Super Four stage. The top two teams from the Super Four stage will then face off in the final.

“We look forward to welcoming fans from around the world to witness this celebration of cricket at its finest,” it concluded.

Earlier in May, the Pakistan Cricket Board had made the last ditch effort to save the tournament by proposing the aforementioned model.

In the proposal, PCB wanted to host the tournament in two phases – first phase: all teams except India will have to play at least one match in Pakistan. In the second phase: the remaining part of the tournament is to be played in UAE or other neutral venue with India participating there.

In case of a rejection, Pakistan threatened to boycott the tournament.

India had refused to travel to the neighbouring country since the ACC awarded the hosting rights.

There were reports that Sri Lanka emerged as favourite venue to host the tournament, which was confirmed in today’s announcement.