Asia Cup will be held in UAE, not Lanka, affirms Sourav Ganguly

The Asia Cup T20 has been shifted to the UAE from Sri Lanka and will be held in the Arab nation, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said on Thursday (July 21).

“Asia Cup will be in UAE, as it is the only place where there won’t be rains,” Ganguly told reporters after the Board’s apex council meeting in Mumbai.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), the island nation’s cricket board had informed the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) on Wednesday that the economic and political crisis in the country did not allow favourable conditions for it to host the tournament.

The Asia Cup is scheduled from August 27 to September 11 and will be played in the T20 format, unlike earlier times when it was a 50-over match between teams.

Also read: No India visit for T20 World Cup if they don’t come for Asia Cup: PCB

Earlier, Pakistan was said to have been opposed to the idea of moving the Asia Cup out of Sri Lanka, saying it would support holding the contest there in order to boost the economy through tourism, which is a key driver of the country.

Sri Lanka however had postponed the third edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) due to the ongoing crisis. And it informed the ACC of its inability to host the contest.