The Asian Cricket Council has confirmed the postponement of Asia Cup 2021 to 2023. In a media release, the ACC Executive Board said that the pandemic has made it difficult for the tournament to be played this year. he further said that they will get no window to host the tournament with the FTP and the international commitments lined up.
The tournament has therefore been postponed 2023, with 2022 already having an Asia Cup lined up in the calendar year. On account of a packed FTP, it has been concluded that there is no practical window in the year when all the teams would be available to participate. The Board has accordingly considered the matter very carefully and determined that the only way ahead would be to postpone the event.
The Sri Lankan cricket board has finally called off Asia Cup 2021 citing emergence of COVID-19 cases in the island nation. The tournament was postponed last year due to the same reason and with a jam-packed schedule upcoming for all the teams, it is unlikely that it will be rescheduled soon. The officials have thus postponed the event to 2023.
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Asia Cup 2021 Postponed To 2023
Sri Lanka Cricket chief executive Ashley de Silva has come out with an official statement regarding the same. “Due to the prevailing situation, it will not be possible to play the tournament in June this year,” he stated.
Meanwhile, after the 2021 edition was called off Pakistan are in line to host Asia Cup 2022. As per the current scenario, it appears that the Asia Cup which is generally played once in two years will be played back to back in 2022 and 2023. Pakistan are most likely to hist the Asia Cup 2022 edition while Sri Lanka, the 2023 edition. It remains to be seen what will be BCCI’s stand if the hosting rights for the 2022 edition are awarded to Pakistan once again.
This year’s Asia Cup was set to be a T20 competition to provide practice for all participating teams ahead of the T20 World Cup 2021 in October. India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Malaysia were the teams scheduled to take part in the tournament.
Also Read: Asia Cup 2021 Called Off Amid COVID-19 Fears: Reports