Agency :
The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) on Thursday evening confirmed what Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly had announced on July 8, that the 2020 Asia Cup has been cancelled.
The ACC said that they are working towards securing June 2021 as a suitable window for the same.
“The Executive Board of the ACC has met on multiple occasions to evaluate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Asia Cup tournament scheduled in September 2020.
“From the onset the Board was keen on organising the tournament as per the original schedule. However, travel restrictions, country-specific quarantine requirements, fundamental health risks and social distancing mandates have posed as substantial challenges to the holding of the Asia Cup. Above all, the risks related to health and safety of participating players, support staff, commercial partners, fans and the cricketing community were deemed to be significant.
“Accordingly, the Board, after careful consideration of all the above factors, has determined that the Asia Cup 2020 be postponed. Conducting the event in a responsible manner remains the priority of the ACC and the Board is hopeful that the tournament will be held in 2021. The ACC is currently working towards securing June 2021 as a suitable window for the same,” ACC said in a statement.
“It may also be noted that the hosts for the Asia Cup 2020, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), has exchanged hosting rights for the tournament with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). Through this arrangement, the SLC will now host the rescheduled Asia Cup expected in June 2021 while the PCB will host the Asia Cup 2022,” the statement added.
On Wednesday, Ganguly said that the tournament has been cancelled during an Instagram chat with journalist Vikrant Gupta.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had made it clear that the window which suits the PCB, who were supposed to host the tournament, doesn’t suit the Indian board.
The PCB then reacted, saying they haven’t heard anything from the ACC.
“We are still waiting for the ACC to come back to us,” PCB Chief Ehsan Mani told Sportstar. “They are making inquiries about certain (things). Maybe, Sourav knows something that I don’t know. That’s possible. But we have not heard anything from the ACC, so I can’t comment on that.”
Later on Wednesday, Mani told the same publication that they’re looking at a window next year.
“It was decided that Pakistan will swap the tournament with Sri Lanka. In principle, no one is certain that it’s possible to hold the tournament this year. So, we are looking at next year,” he said.
PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan had earlier said that the Asia Cup will be held either in September or October.
The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) on Thursday evening confirmed what Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly had announced on July 8, that the 2020 Asia Cup has been cancelled.
The ACC said that they are working towards securing June 2021 as a suitable window for the same.
“The Executive Board of the ACC has met on multiple occasions to evaluate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Asia Cup tournament scheduled in September 2020.
“From the onset the Board was keen on organising the tournament as per the original schedule. However, travel restrictions, country-specific quarantine requirements, fundamental health risks and social distancing mandates have posed as substantial challenges to the holding of the Asia Cup. Above all, the risks related to health and safety of participating players, support staff, commercial partners, fans and the cricketing community were deemed to be significant.
“Accordingly, the Board, after careful consideration of all the above factors, has determined that the Asia Cup 2020 be postponed. Conducting the event in a responsible manner remains the priority of the ACC and the Board is hopeful that the tournament will be held in 2021. The ACC is currently working towards securing June 2021 as a suitable window for the same,” ACC said in a statement.
“It may also be noted that the hosts for the Asia Cup 2020, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), has exchanged hosting rights for the tournament with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). Through this arrangement, the SLC will now host the rescheduled Asia Cup expected in June 2021 while the PCB will host the Asia Cup 2022,” the statement added.
On Wednesday, Ganguly said that the tournament has been cancelled during an Instagram chat with journalist Vikrant Gupta.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had made it clear that the window which suits the PCB, who were supposed to host the tournament, doesn’t suit the Indian board.
The PCB then reacted, saying they haven’t heard anything from the ACC.
“We are still waiting for the ACC to come back to us,” PCB Chief Ehsan Mani told Sportstar. “They are making inquiries about certain (things). Maybe, Sourav knows something that I don’t know. That’s possible. But we have not heard anything from the ACC, so I can’t comment on that.”
Later on Wednesday, Mani told the same publication that they’re looking at a window next year.
“It was decided that Pakistan will swap the tournament with Sri Lanka. In principle, no one is certain that it’s possible to hold the tournament this year. So, we are looking at next year,” he said.
PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan had earlier said that the Asia Cup will be held either in September or October.
