Sri Lanka, an island nation in South Asia, is going through a difficult time. This year’s Asia Cup was supposed to be held in this country. But the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is worried about the event in the turbulent country. It is learned that a decision will be taken before the end of this month whether the event will be held in crisis-ridden Sri Lanka or relocated to an alternative venue.
The Asia Cup will be screened on August 28. However, the concerns about the venue have not been resolved yet. Although Sri Lankan cricket is still optimistic, Bangladesh’s potential as an alternative venue is gradually increasing.
“The ACC is still monitoring the situation in the country and a decision will be taken after discussions at a meeting later this month, taking into account all the factors,” Sportstar was quoted as saying.
After successfully hosting the series with Australia and the Indian women’s team earlier, the island nation was very optimistic about hosting this prestigious event. But the situation took a dramatic turn last week when protesters stormed the presidential palace and set fire to the prime minister’s residence. Given the current situation, the ACC is not willing to explore any possibility and does not have enough time to look for alternatives. So Bangladesh is being considered as a possible alternative.
The Asia Cup was originally scheduled to take place in 2020. But if the Kovid-19 epidemic occurs, it is postponed. India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh have already secured their places in the tournament. On the other hand, the rest of the team will be confirmed through qualifiers with UAE, Nepal, Oman and Hong Kong. The qualifier will be played on August 21.
Teams like India-Pakistan-Bangladesh-Sri Lanka are looking to prepare for the tournament ahead of the T20 World Cup in October-November, and sources said the boards were not keen to send teams to Sri Lanka to play in the tournament. So the pressure on ACC is increasing to determine the alternative venue.
Before Australia, Bangladesh hosted three consecutive Asia Cups from 2012 to 2016. However, neither the ACC nor the Bangladesh Cricket Board has officially announced anything yet.
The last edition of the Asia Cup in 2016 was held in the United Arab Emirates. In that event, Rohit Sharma’s team lost to India Bangladesh and won the title.
