The 2022 Asian Cup will be moved to the UAE
Sri Lanka is experiencing a severe economic crisis related to the COVID-19 pandemic right now. But it was in this country that the Asian Cup was supposed to be held this year. It is reported that the Asian Cricket Council has already made, but has not yet made public, a difficult decision: the 2022 Asian Cup will be moved to the UAE.
According to some sources, the Asian Cricket Council has already held talks with the ECB regarding the transfer of the tournament to the territory of the United Arab Emirates. It is reported that the parties have come to the necessary agreement.
It should be noted that in the last few days the situation has managed to change: the Sri Lanka national club managed to hold a series with Australia in its entirety, and the official representatives of this island state noted that all internal tensions should subside by the end of August: then it seemed that the Asian Cup 2022 would still be held in Sri Lanka. However, then violent protests of thousands of people began inside the country, the result of which was the resignation of the President.
Sri Lanka is in a deplorable state
A representative of the Asian Cricket Council has already commented on Sri Lanka’s internal problems.
“In this scenario, it is considered that holding the championship is impractical. Of course, we will do everything possible to ensure that this island nation still has the opportunity to host a major tournament, but now the realities are such that we simply cannot take risks,” ACC representatives noted.
The Asian Cricket Council still leaves some hopes that the tournament will be held in Sri Lanka, but, frankly, there are very few chances for that: a little more than a month remains before the start of the Asian Cup 2022, and it’s hard to imagine that a country in the most severe crisis in its history, will be able to recover so quickly.
Holding a major competition is not only a great holiday and a great honor, but it is also a responsibility. Now Sri Lanka is in a deplorable state, and the Asian Cricket Council simply cannot risk sending players, coaches and other people involved in the Asian Cup to this state.
The postponement of the Asian Cup will hit SLC very hard
It should be noted that, unfortunately, the postponement of the Asian Cup will hit the SLC very hard – the organization will suffer enormous financial losses. If this happens, the national cricket team will face very serious problems.
The PCB new chief, Faisal Hasnain, has already stated that the priority for Pakistan is to support Sri Lanka. The functionary noted that Australia’s recent tour of Sri Lanka passed without problems, which means that the country is ready to host the tournament.
“Our priority is to do everything possible to ensure that the tournament is held in Sri Lanka. We are well aware of how serious losses this country can suffer if the tournament is postponed. We would not like to allow this. Australia recently played in Sri Lanka and everything was fine, so the tournament is possible,” Faisal said.
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