The Asia Cup was originally scheduled to take place in Pakistan in 2020. Later, the venue was changed to Sri Lanka to get the Asian teams prepared for the T20 world cup. Now the tournament has been further postponed to 2022 due to a packed international schedule.
The Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed that the Asia Cup has been postponed to 2022. The 15th edition of the tournament was to be held last year in Pakistan. Later, the venue was changed from Pakistan to Sri Lanka. The tournament was to be played in the second half of 2021 as a preparatory competition for the T20 World Cup. Both tournaments were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The last edition of The Asia Cup was played in 2018. Originally scheduled to be held in India, the Asian Cricket Council shifted the venue to the UAE. ACC had to change the venue after Pakistan stated their discontentment, citing the non-issuance of visas to athletes of other sports.
Team India won the last edition of the competition by defeating Bangladesh in the final of the tournament. The ‘Men in Blue’ have been dominant in the Asia Cup. They have won the tournament seven times. No other team has been to win it as many times.
The Asia Cup was held for the first time in 1984, which was won by India. Sri Lanka is the second most successful side in the competition with five titles, while Pakistan has won the title twice.
With a lot of league cricket going on where innumerable international players participate, the postponement of Asia Cup will probably not have a huge impact on the Asian teams’ preparations for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
