On Wednesday, (July 08) BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, in conversation with ‘Sports Tak’ on Instagram Live session, confirmed that the Asia Cup cricket tournament, which was supposed to be held in September this year, has been cancelled.
“Asia Cup cancel ho chuka hai, joh September me tha (Asia Cup, which was to be held in September, has been cancelled),” Ganguly had said.
However, after Ganguly’s statement, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) dropped its reaction stating the claim of former India captain has no merit as the fate of Asia Cup is to be decided by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).
“The statements made by Sourav Ganguly have no impact on proceedings. Even if he passes comments every week, they do not hold weight or merit. The decision regarding the Asia Cup will be taken by the ACC. The announcement can only be made by the president of the Asian body Nazmul Hasan. To the best of our knowledge, the schedule of the next ACC meeting is yet to be announced,” said PCB media director Samiul Hasan.
Now, the ACC has revealed an official statement which puts a stamp on Ganguly’s claim. The official body has announced that Asia Cup has been postponed until June 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic. ACC’s Executive Board met on multiple occasions to evaluate the impact of the epidemic and decided to delay the tournament.
“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,” a statement issued by ACC read.
“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,” it added.
The ACC also confirmed that Pakistan, who were set to host the tournament this year, have exchanged hosting rights with Sri Lanka. Now, the Island Nation will stage next year’s event, while PCB will host the 2022 edition.
