The Women’s Asia Cup is a limited overs tournament organized by the Asian Cricket Council to determine the best women’s team of Asia. It began in 2004 and has been held every two years.
The tournament’s first edition saw India and Sri Lanka compete against each other in a five-match One Day International series to determine the champion. The following edition saw Pakistan make its debut. Bangladesh became the fourth participant of the tournament in 2008.
In 2012, China hosted the event and saw a record participation of eight teams that included the debut of the hosts, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Nepal. However, it remains the only edition to feature China and Hong Kong. It was also the first edition to host the Asia Cup in the T20 format. Ever since, the tournament has been held in the shorter format of the game.
The Women’s Premier Cup is an event that has posed as a qualification route for the Women’s Asia Cup. By 2024, the eight participating teams included India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Thailand, UAE, and Malaysia. India has lifted the trophy on seven occasions.
The eight teams face each other in a league stage followed by a knockout stage. The eight teams are divided into two groups of four teams each. Each team in a group plays the other in a round-robin format. A team gets two points for winning a match, one point for an abandoned or drawn match, and zero points for a loss. The two table toppers from each group progress to the semifinals in the knockout stage.
