Big update! Sri Lanka set to lose hosting rights of Asia Cup amidst economic crisis

Sri Lanka is likely to lose the hosting rights of the upcoming edition of the Asia Cup. The last Asia Cup was played in 2018, post which the tournament has failed to see daylight. The 2020 edition was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which was then pushed to 2021. However, with India qualifying for the Test Championship final, it was once again postponed. 

The 2022 edition was all set to start on 27th August, with Sri Lanka as the host. However, it has now been understood that Sri Lanka will no longer host the tournament due to the domestic economic crisis. A final call will be taken in the quarterly meeting of the Cricket's governing body, to be held in UAE on Sunday, March 10.

The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) had earlier announced the dates for the tournament. The first match was set to be played on the 27th of August, with the final scheduled on the 11th of September. 

India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka, and a qualifying team were to compete in the tournament. The qualifiers were to be played from the 20th of August.

India has been the most dominant team in the history of the Asia Cup. Since its inception in 1984, they have won the title seven times in 14 seasons. With five championships, Sri Lanka is the second most successful team. India won the tournament's most recent edition in 2018. They defeated Bangladesh by three wickets to claim their seventh tournament title.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka is all set to host Australia and Pakistan between June and August this season. If the series go ahead or not is yet to be seen. Notably, Sri Lanka last played a bilateral series against India last month.

The series comprised three-match T20 series and a two-match Test series. India had complete dominance in the series as they won all five games. Sri Lanka will next play a two-match Test series against Bangladesh, starting on the 15th of May in Bangladesh.