MUMBAI: United Arab Emirates will replace Sri Lanka as the venue for the Asia Cup, starting next month, due to the ongoing political and economic crisis in the island nation, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) said.
Sri Lanka will, however, retain hosting rights for the nine-team tournament, which will be played between August 27-September 11 and serve as preparation for the Asian sides in the leadup to the Twenty20 World Cup later this year.
The country of 22 million people has been crippled by an economic crisis, with shortages of fuel, food and other necessities. The Sri Lankan parliament on Wednesday approved the extension of a state of emergency for a month.
Shammi Silva, the president of Sri Lanka’s cricket board (SLC) said they “fully stand by the ACC’s decision” to relocate the tournament.
“We were really looking forward to hosting our Asian neighbours in Sri Lanka for the much-anticipated Asia Cup. While I fully stand by the ACC’s decision to shift the Asia Cup to UAE considering the current context and the magnitude of the event, Sri Lanka Cricket will work closely with the ACC and Emirates Cricket Board to ensure that we still have an exciting edition of the Asia Cup,” Sri Lanka Cricket chief Shammi Silva said.
“Considering the prevailing situation in Sri Lanka, the ACC after extensive deliberation has unanimously concluded that it would be appropriate to relocate the tournament from Sri Lanka to the UAE,” the ACC said in a statement.
“Every effort was made to host the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and the decision to shift the venue to the UAE was taken after much deliberation. The UAE will be the new venue while Sri Lanka will continue to retain hosting rights,” ACC president Jay Shah was quoted as saying.
“The Emirates Cricket Board takes great pride in UAE being named the new venue for the Asia Cup. The ECB is always ready to help fellow Member Boards and the ACC and Sri Lanka Cricket have our full support. We have the required infrastructure in place and look forward to welcoming the teams to the UAE,” said Emirates Cricket Board vice-chairman Khalid Al Zarooni.
