Mumbai: Sri Lanka Cricket Chief Executive Ashley de Silva has confirmed that the 2021 edition of the Asia Cup has been discontinued in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis in several participating countries.
Following the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the hosts of this season’s Asia Cup have canceled the T20I tournament, which was to be played between India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Malaysia.
Talking to reporters about the fate of the Asian tournament, Sri Lanka Cricket Chief Executive DeSilva revealed that Sri Lanka will not host the Asia Cup 2021 in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.
“Due to the current situation, it will not be possible to play the tournament in June this year,” the news agency AFP quoted De Silva as saying.
Due to the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries have also banned flights from the region.
As many international teams already have a packed schedule for the next two years, the Sri Lankan cricket chief executive has insisted that the Asia Cup 2021 will have to be ‘put back’ until after the 2023 ICC World Cup.
De Silva has also said that the Asian Cricket Council will soon make a formal announcement about the cancellation of the elite tournament. The Sri Lankan cricket team is currently in Bangladesh for the three-match One Day International (ODI) series.
Team India had defeated Bangladesh by 3 wickets in the final to win the previous edition of the Asia Cup in 2018.
Notably, due to the recent catastrophe of COVID-19, the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the sixth season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) were suspended indefinitely earlier this year.
(With Agency Inputs)
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