Reports – Asia Cup to be moved out of Sri Lanka amidst economic crisis

If reports are to be believed, the Asia Cup 2022 is likely to be shifted to another country. Currently, the tournament is scheduled to be played in Sri Lanka from August 27 to September 11 this year. However, it’s very likely that the tournament will be moved out of the country due to the economic crisis in the Island nation.

For the last few months, the people in the country are standing in long queues for basic amenities such as water, fuel, medicines, cooking gas, and food. The citizens have been staging a protest in the streets and asking the President, Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to resign from the post. The country has been debt-ridden and lacks foreign reserves.

Meanwhile, the decision to change the venue of the tournament, which will be played in T20I format, will be taken at the Cricket’s governing body’s meeting on April 10.  Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairperson Ramiz Raja and CEO Faisal Hasnain will attend the meeting, according to a report in Cricket Pakistan. 

The tournament will witness five teams – India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka competing against each other. A qualifier team will also join them in the tournament. The tournament was planned to be played in T20I format to help the teams prepare for the 20-20 World Cup in Australia in October 2022.

Meanwhile, It will be interesting to see which country out of the five gets the hosting rights. In 2108, the tournament was scheduled to be played  in India but was shifted to the United Arab Emirates. The decision was taken due to the security concerns of the Pakistan team in India. The edition was played in the ODI format, won by India, who beat Bangladesh in the final.

Meanwhile, it is be noted that Sri Lanka is also scheduled to host Australia for the multi-format series. The series will start with three-match T20I series, followed by five-match ODI series and will conclude with two-match Test series. The series will start on June 7 and end on July 12. However, the fate of the series is in jeopardy. Meanwhile, India is the most successful team in Asia Cups, having won the title seven times, followed by Sri Lanka, who have won the tournament five times.