Asia Cup 2022 officially shifted from Sri Lanka to UAE

Amidst the turmoil in the Island nation, Asia Cup 2022 has been officially shifted from Sri Lanka to the UAE for the 2022 season. The prestigious multi-nation competition, which will take place in middle-east Asia between August 27 and September 11, will be hosted by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), but in a different venue.

The boards arrived at a decision after taking into consideration the current economic and political crisis in Sri Lanka. Protestors had almost invaded the stadium during Sri Lanka’s second Test match against Australia, which made the situation even worse. As a result, a change in the venue was sought by the cricketing board.

“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 UAE,” a release from the Asian Cricket Council read.

Team Sri Lanka is currently involved in a Test series with Pakistan and has earlier hosted Australia for a multi-format assignment. However, after the country’s President fled and a new President was elected, things altered significantly. Protests against the political elite have brought the nation to a boil.

“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 magnitude of the event, Sri Lanka cricket will work closely with the ACC and the Emirates Cricket Board to ensure that we still have an exciting edition of the Asia Cup,” SLC President Shammi Silva said.

With five teams on board, a sixth team will be included soon

This year, the T20 format will be adopted for the six-team Asia Cup, which serves as a warm-up for the teams involved in theT20 World Cup in Australia. India will be walking in as the defending champions of the title, having won the previous two editions in 2018 and 2016, respectively. Apart from India and Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh will be participating in the event, with the sixth team yet to be decided.