The ACC Premier Cup, officially known as the ACC Men's Premier Cup is a men's limited-overs international cricket tournament organized by the Asian Cricket Council and contested in a league system by the associate members of ACC. It crowns the best associate team in Asia and also serves as the final qualification pathway towards the Asia Cup. It evolved from the former ACC Trophy Elite cricket competition.[3] The inaugural edition of the tournament took place in April and May, 2023 with Nepal as the host. Currently, It's the top tier tournament for associate teams in Asia.[4]
| Administrator | Asian Cricket Council (ACC) |
|---|---|
| Format | 50-overs, ODI, T20I |
| First edition | 2023  Nepal |
| Latest edition | 2024  Oman |
| Tournament format | Group stage and knockout |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Current champion |  United Arab Emirates (1st title) |
| Most successful | Nepal United Arab Emirates (1 title each) |
| Most runs | Muhammad Waseem (505)[1] |
| Most wickets | Bilal Khan (27)[2] |
| Website | https://asiancricket.org |
 2024 ACC Men's Premier Cup | |
History
editThis is a cricket tournament evolved from the former ACC Trophy, contested in 50 overs format and also the ACC Twenty20 Cup in T20 format, both were organized by the Asian Cricket Council. ACC Trophy was replaced by ACC Premier League in 2014.
ACC Premier League was held in Malaysia between 1–7 May 2014. Afghanistan won the tournament. The top four teams, Afghanistan, UAE, Nepal and Oman qualified for the 2014 ACC Championship, which was cancelled. After first edition of the tournament in 2014 and ACC Twenty20 Cup in 2015, the ACC reformed the tournament structure into a regional, rather than divisional basis.
In 2023, ACC reinvented the tournament and divided the associate members in a two-tier league system. Premier Cup is the top tier tournament while Challenger Cup being the bottom tier.[5] It's played in both 50-overs and T20I format alternatively, serving as a single ultimate prize for associate teams in Asia. Additionally, the tournament resembles the format used in Asia Cup, as it serves as a qualification path for the same.
Tournaments
edit| Year | Format | Host Nation | Final Venue | Final | Teams | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Result | Runner-up | |||||
| 2023 Details |
50-overs, ODI | Nepal
|
TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur | Nepal 118/3 (30.3 overs) |
Nepal won by 7 wickets (scorecard) |
United Arab Emirates 117 (33.1 overs) |
10 |
| 2024 Details |
T20I | Oman
|
Oman Cricket Academy Ground Turf 1, Muscat | United Arab Emirates 204/4 (20 overs) |
United Arab Emirates won by 55 runs (scorecard) |
Oman 149/9 (20 overs) |
10 |
Performance by teams
edit- Legend
- 1st – Champions
- 2nd – Runners-up
- 3rd – Third place
- DNP — Did not participate
- GP – Group stage
- Q – Qualified
An overview of the teams' performances in every ACC Premier Cup:
Host Team
|
2023 50-overs, ODI (10) |
2024 T20I (10) |
|---|---|---|
 Bahrain
|
GP | GP |
 Cambodia
|
DNP |
GP |
 Hong Kong
|
GP | 3rd |
 Kuwait
|
4th | GP |
 Qatar
|
GP | GP |
 Malaysia
|
GP | GP |
| Nepal
|
1st | 4th |
| Oman
|
3rd | 2nd |
 Saudi Arabia
|
GP | GP |
 Singapore
|
GP | DNP
|
| United Arab Emirates
|
2nd | 1st |
Debutant teams
edit| Year | Teams |
|---|---|
| 2023 | Nepal, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Qatar, Malaysia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain
|
| 2024 | Cambodia
|
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Most runs combined format". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
- ^ "Most wickets combined format". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
- ^ "Acc Premier League: Start of a New Era".
- ^ Republica. "Second Edition of ACC Premier Cup T20 to be held in April". My Republica. Retrieved 2024-01-23.
- ^ "ACC releases calendar for next two years". ANI News. January 5, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2024.