Asian Cricket Council reached a decision to postpone the 2020 edition of their marquee event Asia Cup due to the COVID-19 situation still being rampant in the sub-continent after a meeting of their executive board on Thursday.
‘The board, after careful consideration of all the factors, has determined that the Asia cup 2020 be postponed,’ read the statement sent by the ACC on Thursday.
‘Conducting the event in a responsible manner remains the top 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,’ it further read.
Earlier on Wednesday, the president of Board of Control for Cricket in India Sourav Ganguly had said in an Instagram live session with an Indian journalist that this year’s edition was already postponed, despite there being no official statement from the ACC.
Ganguly’s statement caused some backlash in the Pakistan media with Pakistan Cricket Board’s media director Samiul Hasan dismissing his claims as non-consequential.
‘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,’ Samiul told Pakistan media.
‘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,’ he added.
But in the very next day, the executive body of ACC dispatched a statement which reflected Ganguly’s words.
In the media release ACC also informed that some changes had been made regarding the hosting rights of the next two editions of the tournament.
Earlier, PCB had the right to host this year’s tournament but they exchanged the right with their Sri Lankan counterparts, which meant that the island nation was will be hosting the 2021 edition while Pakistan will host in the following year.
This announcement was a another setback for Bangladesh Cricket Board, who were earlier planning to resume the national team’s practice late July or early August with the Asia Cup in mind. -new age
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