Asia Cup cricket tournament postponed till June 2021: Asian Cricket Council

“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,” ACC said in a statement read.

Asia Cup cricket tournament, which was supposed to be held in September this year, has been postponed until June 2021 owing to Covid-19 pandemic, announced Asian Cricket Council (ACC) on Thursday. ACC’s Executive Board met on multiple occasions to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on the Asia Cup tournament and in the end decided to postpone the tournament.

File photo of captains with the Asia Cup trophy ahead of the 2018 tournament which was won by India.(Twitter/Asian Cricket Council)

“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,” ACC said in a statement 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.

ACC, however, sounded hopeful of hosting the tournament next year. “The ACC is currently working towards securing June 2021 as a suitable window for the same,” it said.

Pakistan was to originally host the Asia Cup this time but due to security reasons, the tournament was supposed to be held in Sri Lanka after the country’s board expressed its willingness to organise the same.

The official announcement comes just a day after BCCI president Sourav Ganguly told an Indian news organisation that the tournament has been postponed. Reacting to Ganguly’s statement, Media director of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Samiul Hasan Burney, had said on Thursday that the final decision on the matter wrested with the ACC.

India are the most successful team in the history of the tournament and are the defending champions, having won the last two tournaments.

(With PTI inputs)