Bangladesh will be the first choice to host Asia Cup if venue changes: BCB President

Clearing doubts over the hosting of the Asia Cup, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan has indicated that it would be Bangladesh who are in a good position to host this tournament if everything doesn’t come back on track in Sri Lanka.

Time will tell everything, Sri Lanka is not in a good condition – Nazmul Hassan

On a question about BCB’s preparations to host the tournament, Hassan answered, as quoted by The Daily Star, “Sri Lanka is going through a tough time, which means their board is not in a good condition either. It’s not the right time to ask such a question.”

Talking about the processes and proceedings of hosting, he added later –

“Time will tell everything. I was supposed to go to India to meet with the ICC [International Cricket Council] president. I don’t think it’s the right time to talk about it. But if the venue changes, Bangladesh will be the first choice.”

According to the cricket calendar of both ACC and ICC, Asia Cup is supposed to be played from the 27th of August. This tournament will comprise Asia’s five Test-playing nations along with the team which will confirm its place after winning the qualifiers for the tournament.

As there is a discussion of a change in the venue, the dates may remain the same for the tournament. The Asia Cup of 2022 will be played in the 20-over format ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to happen in October-November this year.

The previous edition of the Asia Cup was played in 2018 in the format of 50 overs which was mainly aimed at the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2019 which was played in England. Rohit Sharma-led Team India lifted the Asia Cup after beating Bangladesh in a close contest in the final.