Sri Lanka is going through an unprecedented economic crisis and a lot of political turmoil. In the island nation, there is a shortage of essential supplies and the President of Sri Lanka has fled to the Maldives, leaving the country in crisis and unrest.
Amidst all this, reports first came in that the Asia Cup 2022 would be shifted to Bangladesh because of the uncertain situation in Sri Lanka. Now, fresh reports are doing the rounds saying that the Asia Cup will be played in the United Arab Emirates. The Gulf nation has emerged as the frontrunner to host the six-nation tournament.
This six-team tournament is slated to be played from August 27 to September 11, which will involve Hong Kong, Kuwait, Singapore and UAE who are set to play the Qualifier before the main event, which will involve Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and the winner of the qualifying tournament.
“In such a scenario, it is being felt that hosting the championship is not appropriate,” a member of the ACC told Cricbuzz on Saturday (July 16).
Amidst all the turmoil Sri Lanka is going through, The Sri Lankan Cricket Board has successfully managed to host a tour which involved Australia across all three formats, and now again is hosting Pakistan in a two-match Test series. The Pakistan board has said that it will back Sri Lanka to the hilt to host the Asia Cup and that there should be no change in venue despite the prevailing situation.
Amidst the recent developments, Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) recent take remains a glimmer of hope for the SLC. “Our first preference is to support Sri Lanka and play the Asia Cup there. If this tournament does not take place in Sri Lanka, it will be a huge cricketing and financial loss for them. Australia’s recent tour of Sri Lanka went off without any problems,” Faisal Hasnain, PCB CEO, said.
“Similarly, there have been no issues with the ongoing Pakistan tour of Sri Lanka as we are constantly in touch with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and our embassy in the country. Our discussions with the ACC representatives have suggested that the tournament is on track at the moment as they are monitoring the situation very carefully and we will support their decision,” he added.
