Thirteen teams begin the road to the 2028 T20 World Cup in Malaysia on Monday

Malaysia stages both halves of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Sub-Regional Asia Qualifier from Monday, with 13 teams, 36 matches and six places at next year's regional final at stake

The first of the two events, Sub-Regional Qualifier A, opens the programme on Monday 5 October with three matches. Myanmar play Bhutan at Bayuemas Oval and Thailand meet Bahrain at UKM Oval in the morning session, before Kuwait face Qatar at Bayuemas in the afternoon.

Seven teams are in Qualifier A and six in Qualifier B, which begins on Thursday. Both are single round robins, and the top three from each will go through to the next stage of the Asia qualification pathway in 2027.

Every match is being streamed free on ICC.tv worldwide and on Fancode in India, with the two tournaments running to Wednesday 14 October.

Three matches to open the week

Monday's card begins at 09:15 local time with Myanmar against Bhutan at Bayuemas Oval and Thailand against Bahrain at UKM Oval, the only two grounds in use on the opening day. Kuwait and Qatar follow at 14:00.

The schedule does not let anyone settle. Qatar return on Tuesday morning to play Thailand, with Bahrain meeting Bhutan and Mongolia opening their campaign against Kuwait at UKM Oval later the same day.

Qualifier A then takes Wednesday off, with its seven playing days falling on 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12 and 14 October.

Seven teams in a single round robin

Bahrain, Bhutan, Kuwait, Mongolia, Myanmar, Qatar and Thailand make up Qualifier A, each side playing the other six once across 21 matches.

That format leaves no second chance. With no semi-finals and no final, a single defeat against a direct rival can decide which three teams travel on and which wait another cycle.

Mongolia are the only side to sit out the opening day. The other six are all in action on Monday, and Mongolia's week starts a day later against Kuwait.

Qualifier B joins on Thursday

The second event brings in Hong Kong China, China, hosts Malaysia, Maldives, Saudi Arabia and Singapore, and starts on Thursday 8 October.

Its opening day puts Maldives against China at Bayuemas Oval, Saudi Arabia against Singapore at UKM Oval and Malaysia against Hong Kong China at STC Oval, all three in the afternoon.

Six teams playing each other once accounts for the remaining 15 of the 36 matches, and Qualifier B shares the final day with Qualifier A on 14 October.

Six places on the road to 2028

The prize is a place at the Asia regional final in 2027, where six qualification spots will be available.

Beyond that sits the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2028, the tournament the whole pathway feeds into, with these two qualifiers the first stage of the Asia route to it.

Malaysian Cricket Association president Mahinda Vallipuram said: "We are honoured to host these important events on the road to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2028. They provide another opportunity to showcase the ambition, talent and continued development of cricket across Asia."

Three grounds around Kuala Lumpur

All 36 matches are spread across three venues in the Kuala Lumpur area: Bayuemas Oval, UKM Oval and STC Oval, with the two qualifiers sharing the grounds once Qualifier B is under way.

Bayuemas Oval carries the heaviest load. It stages the first match of each event and is in use on six of Qualifier A's seven playing days, with STC Oval taking two of the three fixtures on the final day.

Vallipuram also thanked the International Cricket Council "for entrusting Malaysia with the hosting of these qualifiers and for its continued support for the growth of the game across the region".

Qualifier A closes on Wednesday 14 October, when Bhutan play Thailand at STC Oval in the last of its 21 matches.

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