By Hgptv

Copyright hgptv

Georgetown, Guyana – September 9, 2025 – The men’s Asia cup cricket tournament begins Tuesday 9th September 2025 with Hong Kong vs Afghanistan, the event is being hosted in United Arab Emirates UAE due to ongoing political tensions with Pakistan & India.

Already players are speaking out against the rigorous schedule, that’s really putting their fitness to the test.

Originally, the event was to be hosted in Pakistan, however, due to military escalations earlier this year between the two countries, India refusing to travel to Pakistan, and at one point considering to opt out of the tournament. After good sense prevailed, the UAE was then considered to host the tournament.

Back-to-back games plus travel ‘not ideal’ comment from Charith Asalanka talking about the grueling schedules. “If you start complaining about these things, it affects your performance on the field,” says Rashid Khan.

“Right now, I’m feeling very sleepy,” Charith Asalanka announced, to peals of laughter around the room. It was a brutally honest opening quip from Sri Lanka’s captain, who had flown into Dubai from Harare via South Africa just hours earlier for the men’s T20 Asia Cup.

Asalanka had just played back-to-back T20 games in Zimbabwe on September 6 and 7, wrapped up the series, packed his bags, boarded a long-haul flight, and landed straight into the Dubai heat, only to be whisked off to a pre-tournament photoshoot and a captains’ press conference.

“I should answer this question tomorrow, I think,” Asalanka said with a wry smile. “It’s really hard to play back-to-back games and then travel straightaway. I think we actually need a couple of days off. I hope the coach will give us [that]. “It’s important to take care of our fitness. And we all know it’s really hot out there. For me, it’s really important to stay fresh and give 100% in the first game.”

Luckily for Sri Lanka, they have been given four days off before their tournament opener against Bangladesh. It’s a rare luxury in a competition where Sri Lanka are in the “group of death” with Afghanistan and Hong Kong completing the pool.

Afghanistan, meanwhile, had also wrapped up a series but in the same part of the world. And their captain Rashid Khan wasn’t complaining.

“Well, I don’t think it’s ideal – that’s what we were discussing [with the other captains] before as well,” Rashid said. “To play in Abu Dhabi and stay here in Dubai for all three games… it’s different. But as professional cricketers, we have to accept these things.

“Once you enter the ground, you tend to forget everything else. In other countries, we often fly two-three hours and go straight to the game. I remember flying from Bangladesh to the US once and playing straightaway.”

Throw in the match-day road trips, later-than-usual finishes – thanks to a deferred start time – and post-match recovery in heat that has constantly hovered over 40 degrees Celsius well into the evening, and the task becomes even trickier. But Rashid was determined to keep the focus on what he and his team could control.

“You have to be well-prepared and mentally very strong, that’s why we are professionals,” he said. “If you start complaining about these things, about traveling a lot, it affects your performance on the field. For us, the focus is to put in the effort once we step inside. Wherever we go, we try to forget whatever happens outside and adapt. The most important thing is to give 100% and win the game.”

Group B is considered the group of death in this years tournament, the “group of death” promises high-intensity cricket, how fresh the players manage to keep themselves fit could be a crucial factor, too.

The Asia cup qualifiers for this edition are India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Oman, United Arab Emirates & Bangladesh.