Pakistan swap Asia Cup 2020 hosting rights with Sri Lanka: This year’s Asia Cup will now be played in the island nation.
Advertisement
The 16th edition of the Asia Cup which is scheduled to be played in September this year will now be played at a different venue as original hosts Pakistan have swapped hosting rights with Sri Lanka.
While this year’s tournament will be played in Sri Lanka, Pakistan have acquired the hosting rights of Asia Cup 2022 which was originally slated to be played in Sri Lanka.
The venue of this year’s Asia Cup has been in the news since January after a source in privy to the BCCI opened up on India’s bleak chances of traveling to Pakistan as they had the hosting rights then.
The matter had even invited a response from the Asian Cricket Council and it seemed that the tournament might shift to a neutral venue (presumably UAE).
Pakistan swap Asia Cup 2020 hosting rights with Sri Lanka
Considering India and Pakistan’s sour political relations, the Indian team touring Pakistan appears to be a distant reality. With Pakistan having started to host international cricket, they were expected to express concerns with respect to the tournament being played at a neutral venue.
Another reason why the hosting rights have been given to Sri Lanka during ACC’s recent meeting is the improved COVID-19 situation in the island nation. It is due to the same reason that Sri Lanka had offered BCCI to host the 13th season of the Indian Premier League.
Talking about international cricket, Sri Lanka are also confident that India’s delayed tour of Sri Lanka will be conducted in August. If SLC manages to convince the BCCI regarding the same, it might see India playing two tournaments in Sri Lanka.
While the fixtures of the Asia Cup are yet to be confirmed, there is a possibility that the same might collide with IPL 2020 as IPL Chairman Brijesh Patel disclosed yesterday that the board is eyeing the September-October window to conduct the cash-rich league provided if the ICC T20 World Cup gets postponed.
