The Executive Board of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has deferred a decision on the future of the Asia Cup T20 tournament to be held this year. There is speculation that the tournament may be postponed due to the corona virus outbreak around the globe.
This year’s edition of Asia Cup is scheduled to be held in September and Pakistan Cricket Board(PCB) has the hosting rights of the multi team event. However, India is unlikely to travel to Pakistan owing to the cross border military tension and political difference and in all likeliness, the tournament will be scheduled to some other venue.
It is learned that the ACC will wait for the decision of the International Cricket Council (ICC) on the T20 World Cup (October-November) to be held in Australia which will decide the future of the Asia Cup.
After the meeting on Monday, ACC said in a press release, ‘The board stressed the importance of organizing the Asia Cup 2020. Considering the impact and consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, the options for the Asia Cup 2020 potential venue were discussed and a final decision will be taken when the time comes.’
The ACC Board meeting was chaired by Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Nazmul Hassan Papon and is the first continental meeting attended by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly and Secretary Jai Shah.
Aware of the situation, a senior ACC member said that there was a discussion about postponing the tournament, but no consensus was reached on alternate dates. Apart from this, ACC’s participation in the 2022 Asian Games in China was also discussed. “The board was informed about the status and progress of ACC’s participation in the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China,” the release said.
The rising coronavirus threat may put Asia Cup 2020 in jeopardy and only time will tell what is to come.
