Asia Cup will happen in the UAE, confirms Sourav Ganguly

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly on Thursday confirmed that the Asia Cup has been shifted to UAE, from Sri Lanka, amidst the political and economic unrest in the island nation. The Asian Cricket Council and the concerned board had been in talks for quite some time regarding the matter. Ganguly confirmed the developments after the board’s Apex Council meeting.

Sri Lanka was set to host the mega event, but Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) informed the ACC about the conditions in the country and pulled out as the hosts. Due to the same reason, SLC also postponed their Lanka Premier League (LPL). As for the Asia Cup (T20Is), it is now slated to be held in the UAE from August 27 to September 11.

“Asia Cup will be in UAE, as it is the only place where there won’t be rains,” Ganguly informed the media according to NDTV after the Board’s Apex Council meeting in Mumbai.

A handful of decisions taken on India’s domestic cricket schedule

Quite a few decisions were taken during the Apex Council meeting. As per the Council’s discussion of several options for the 2022–23 season, Ganguly announced that a full domestic season will take place in 2022–23. The Duleep Trophy, which will likely begin on September 8, is being considered as a possible way for the Board to kick off the senior men’s season. The Irani Cup, which will take place from October 1–5, is also being considered.

The Duleep Trophy was previously a knockout tournament between five zones, but later it was reduced to a round-robin competition between three teams, with the top two teams moving on to the final. The current Ranji Trophy winners compete against the Rest of India’s team in the Irani Cup.

Additionally considered were the possibilities for hosting the Ranji Trophy, the Vijay Hazare Trophy, and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The Vijay Hazare Trophy (ODI) is anticipated to begin play on November 12, while the Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20) may begin on October 11.  The Ranji Trophy is likely to commence on December 13 with the knockouts from February 1.

One of the meeting’s suggested formats calls for the Ranji Trophy to be divided into four groups of Eight Elite teams and one group of Six Plate teams. As in previous Group stages, each team would thus get to play a minimum of seven games. The Ranji Trophy makes the competition more fierce because a team must play a minimum of 10 games to win. According to Ganguly, the Board will start offering a women’s U16 division in the forthcoming season.