International Cricket

Women's Asia Cup 2026 (August) Fixtures — Decoded

Priya Iyer 15 May 2026 Updated 15 May 2026 ~3 min read ~593 words

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The Women's Asia Cup 2026 runs August 18 to August 30, 2026, hosted by Sri Lanka. Eight teams. T20 format. Two groups of four. Top two from each group qualify for the semi-finals. The tournament is the final dress rehearsal for the Women's T20 WC 2026 in India that starts in September. Here are the fixtures.

Host country and venues

Sri Lanka hosts. Three venues — Colombo R Premadasa, Pallekele Stadium, Dambulla International. The final on August 30 at R Premadasa, Colombo. Doubleheader format with 3:00 PM and 7:00 PM IST start times.

Group draw

Group A — India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, UAE. Group B — Australia, Bangladesh, Thailand, Nepal. The India-Pakistan group-stage fixture is on August 21 at R Premadasa, Colombo. Australia heads Group B as the only non-Asian regional invitee.

India Women's path

India open against UAE at Pallekele August 18. Then India vs Pakistan at Colombo August 21 — the marquee group game. India vs Sri Lanka at Dambulla August 25. If India tops Group A, they meet the Group B second seed in the semi-final. The first semi is August 28, second semi August 29.

Pakistan Women's path

Pakistan Women under Nida Dar (or the new captain assuming the transition is complete) play UAE at Pallekele August 19, India at Colombo August 21, Sri Lanka at Dambulla August 24. Pakistan needs to beat at least Sri Lanka to make the semi-final.

Standout match-ups

Smriti Mandhana vs Diana Baig — Pakistan's left-arm seamer vs India's opening fulcrum. Harmanpreet Kaur vs Nashra Sandhu — leg-spin against the Indian skipper. Richa Ghosh vs Fatima Sana — death-overs power against the Pakistan strike bowler.

Broadcast deal

Sony Sports (India) holds Asian Cricket Council rights for the women's tournament. Free streaming on JioCinema for India. Dawn News (Pakistan), Sky Sports (UK), Foxtel (Australia). Star Sports prime time for India in the evening slot.

Stakes ahead of T20 WC 2026

For India Women, this is the final form check before the home World Cup. The selection of the No. 3 (Jemimah vs Yastika), the second spinner (Sneh Rana vs Radha) and the death seamer (Renuka vs Pooja Vastrakar) all get decided here. For Australia Women, the Asia Cup is the only competitive cricket between the SL tour and the warm-up to India.

What to watch next: IND-W vs PAK-W August 21 group game and the Asia Cup final August 30 with semi-final implications.