Asian Cricket Council (ACC)

Asian countries established the Asian Cricket Council(ACC) to promote cricket in Asia. It gave them a chance to play at the international level. Through this council, many countries started participating in cricket and qualifying for many events.

Foundation

Six countries founded the Asian Cricket Council on Sep 19, 1983 in Delhi, India.

Pakistan
India
Sri Lanka
Bangladesh
Malaysia
Singapore

In 1983, it was fully established, and the first tournament was played in 1984. Its headquarters was established in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia in 2003. Then, it shifted to Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2016. In 2018, it again shifted to Dubai, near the ICC main office. Its main role is to arrange tournaments and to prepare teams for schedules, including the Asia Cup.

Nowadays, it plays a major role in Asian cricket and organizes events to encourage cricket and its passion among today’s generation.

Presidents

The leaders of the council change periodically according to the full members’ countries in Asia.

They nominate candidates and select one after voting. The total term of the presidency is two years. After choosing the other president, the chairman of the cricket board of their country selects the role of the president.

Now, Mohsin Naqvi is the president of ACC who sat in the chair in April 3, 2025. He succeeded Shammi Silva, a Sri Lankan, as president of the ACC.

Asian Cricket Council Members

Permanent Members

The full members of the ACC are test-playing nations as follows:

Pakistan
Sri Lanka
India
Bangladesh
Afghanistan

These teams played every year without the need to fulfill the qualification criteria.

Associate Members

The associate members of the Asia Cup include 25 countries from Asia and are as follows:

United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Nepal
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Bahrain
Kuwait
Malaysia
Hong Kong
Singapore
Maldives
Bhutan
Iran
Thailand
Myanmar
China
Mongolia
Cambodia
Indonesia
Uzbekistan
Japan
Tajikistan
Philippines
Macau
Samoa
Vanuatu

Events programs

At first, they launched the Asia Cup program, then they developed and included more cricket events.

These events are as follows:

Asia Cup (ODI and T20)
Emerging Teams Asia Cup
ACC Men’s U-19 Asia Cup
ACC women’s Asia cup
ACC men’s and women’s T20 Emerging Cup

Relationship with ICC

The Asian Cricket Council works independently but obeys the rules of the ICC, including the terms and conditions of playing cricket and security policies.

ICC has a strong relationship with them because it provides financial support and a chance to participate in cricket tournaments. They also collaborate with each other in promoting cricket, but the ACC is independent in promoting cricket in Asia.

Player Development Plans

ACC has many plans to promote cricket in Asia. These programs intend to go to small areas. They invite younger players to participate in competitions. They select the best teams and make them play at the international level.