Sri Lanka to host 2021 Asia Cup, Pakistan have the rights for 2022, says PCB CEO Wasim Khan

The 2020 edition of the Asia Cup was set to take place earlier this year, but the COVID-19 pandemic ended up playing spoilsport. The tournament was amongst the many events to be either cancelled or postponed. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), earlier, held the rights for this year’s Asia Cup, which had to be postponed until 2021 due to the grave global pandemic.

The PCB, now, has shared an update on the upcoming edition as well as the one to be held in 2022. Wasim Khan, the Chief Executive Officer of the country’s cricket board, stated that the 2021 Asia Cup would now take place in Sri Lanka with Pakistan having the rights for the 2022 edition.

“The next Asia Cup will be hosted in Sri Lanka in June and we have got hosting rights now for the 2022 Asia Cup,” Khan was quoted as saying in Times Now.

The Asia Cup was scheduled to take place in the month of August and September, but it couldn’t be conducted. The T20 World Cup, which was set to be held in Australia, was also postponed until 2021. Instead, the Indian Premier League (IPL), which was postponed from March, took place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Pakistan clawing their way back into cricket

Pakistan recently returned to hosting competitive cricket in the country. The National T20 Cup and the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy are being held behind closed doors. They also hosted Zimbabwe for a bilateral ODI and T20I series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The playoffs for the 2020 Pakistan Super League (PSL), also took place back in November.

Back in July, cricket made its comeback amidst the coronavirus pandemic with West Indies’ tour of England. Then in August, Pakistan had their bilateral series against the Three Lions. The Pakistan team, led by Babar Azam, is currently in New Zealand for a bilateral series.

Upon reaching, the team is already in a fair bit of trouble as few of their members have been tested positive for COVID-19 before the games begin later in December. The PCB CEO was also learned to have gotten a final warning from New Zealand regarding breach of safety protocols.