Pakistan awarded 2020 Asia Cup, tournament set to be held at neutral venue

The next edition of the Asia Cup could also be UAE-bound with Pakistan given the hosting rights of the tournament in 2020, as organising it in its own country will cast serious doubts on India’s participation owing to diplomatic tensions.

The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in its meeting in Singaporeon Tuesday awarded the continental meet, to be held in T20 format, to Pakistan,which will most likely organise it in the neutral venues of the United ArabEmirates, its cricket team’s ‘home’ since the 2009 terrorist attack on the SriLankan team bus.

   

The tournament will be held in September ahead of the WorldT20 in Australia. Diplomatic tensions with neighbours Pakistan forced India tohost the last Asia Cup in the UAE.

“Pakistan told the delegates at the ACC meeting held inSingapore that they would host the Asia Cup at home but a final decision on thevenue would be taken after consultation with other members of the ACC andkeeping in mind the prevailing security and political situation around thattime in Pakistan,” a PCB source said.

He said if conditions were not conducive to have the AsiaCup in Pakistan, the PCB would host it at a neutral venue.

“Last year the Board of Control for Cricket in India hostedthe Asia Cup in UAE because of the political tensions between Pakistan andIndia,” the source added.

When contacted, a senior BCCI official said: “The decisionto play in pakistan will be completely be the government’s call. The Board willfollow whatever decision the centre takes. We believe that just like we hostedthe tournament last year in the UAE, Pakistan should also ideally organise itat a neutral venue.”

At the ACC meeting, the PCB representatives also insistedthat Sri Lanka send its team to Pakistan to play the two ICC Test Championshipmatches in Lahore and Karachi in September this year.It was also decided that the sport would returnto the next Asian Games in T20 format and the ACC would provide technicalsupport to the Olympic Council of Asia.

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