The Asia Cup may eventually move away from Sri Lanka due to political unrest. The name Bangladesh first came up as the host, but eventually, the competition could be in the United Arab Emirates.
The series with Australia is over. There was no sign of political unrest in the Test series with Pakistan. The India-Sri Lanka women’s cricket series also took place peacefully. But there is a difference between organizing a bilateral series and a multi-team competition. Apart from that, the situation in Sri Lanka is also getting hotter. In this situation, there is a question about hosting the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka. However, Sri Lankan cricket officials are confident about hosting the six-team tournament.
Asian Cricket Council (ACC) officials are optimistic about hosting the Cricket Sri Lanka tournament but are not taking any chances. They have considered the United Arab Emirates as an alternative. The ACC officials have also held initial talks with the officials of the Emirates Cricket Board in this regard. An ACC official said, “It may not be safe to host the tournament in the current situation in Sri Lanka.”
The Asian competition will be held from August 27 to September 11. There are five Test playing countries Bangladesh, Afghanistan, India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. One team from the qualifiers will make it to the main event. Before this, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuwait, and the Emirates will play matches between themselves from August 20 to 26 in order to qualify for the Asia Cup.
