Cricket News

‘As far as we are concerned, we are still very confident of hosting the tournament in Sri Lanka’ – SLC secretary amid political turmoil

Even as speculations are rife that the upcoming Asia Cup could be moved to Bangladesh, a reassuring statement has come from the Sri Lankan Cricket board that the country is still capable […]

Jul 15, 2022 12:11 pm

Even as speculations are rife that the upcoming Asia Cup could be moved to Bangladesh, a reassuring statement has come from the Sri Lankan Cricket board that the country is still capable of hosting the Asia Cup amidst the political turmoil and grave situation in the country.

The last few months have been a tumultuous time in the Island nation where the Sri Lankan public are expressing their concern by the way of protests due to political unrest in the country and even as Sri Lanka continue to battle against rising inflation.

Sri Lanka had successfully hosted Australia in an all-format bilateral series that was played for a span of 35 days and will be hosting Pakistan in a two-match Test series starting Saturday, July 16. Earlier, there were a lot of rumors stating that Sri Lanka would be losing the hosting rights of this year’s Asia Cup due to tensions in the island nation.

“As far as we are concerned, we are still very confident of hosting the tournament in Sri Lanka,” said Mohan de Silva, secretary at Sri Lanka Cricket while speaking to ESPNCricinfo.

“We have just hosted the Australian tour with two Tests in Galle, and Pakistan are in the country as well,” he added.

At the same time, it has also been learned that the all – important decision on whether Sri Lanka would be retained as the hosts for the 15th edition of the Asia Cup will be taken by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) on Friday, July 15.

The upcoming edition of the Asia Cup will be played between six teams. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka are the five teams in the main draw. The sixth team will be determined by who wins the Qualifiers that will be played from August 20 to 26. Hong Kong, Kuwait, Singapore, and the UAE are the participants in the Qualifiers.

The 2022 edition of the Asia Cup will be played in the T20 format as it would serve as ideal preparation for the T20 World Cup, that is scheduled to be played Down Under in October-November. India are the current title holders.