Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly said on Wednesday that the Asia Cup 2020 in September this year has been canceled. The tournament was to be hosted by Pakistan. However, so far there has been no statement from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
“The Asia Cup is cancelled, which was to be held in September,” Ganguly told a news channel. He did not give a reason for cancelling the tournament. However, coronavirus can be a major reason for this.
IPL CHANCES INCREASE DUE TO ASIA CUP 2020 CANCELLATION
The chances of the Indian Premier League (IPL) which was postponed indefinitely due to Corona have now increased, as the September window is now vacant. The second window will be available only when ICC decides to cancel the T20 World Cup, which to be held in October-November this year.
As of now, the BCCI is still waiting for the decision of the International Cricket Council (ICC) on the T20 World Cup to be held in Australia this year. If this tournament also does not happen this year, the board could get a long window for the IPL. The World Cup is to be held from 18 October to 15 November.
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Ganguly turned 48 on Wednesday. On this occasion he said, “We do not want IPL 2020 to be cancelled. If we get 35 to 40 days also, then we will conduct IPL in the country itself. At the moment, we do not know where it will be. The IPL is the largest tournament in the country. We want it to happen.”
The BCCI president said, “It is difficult to say at this time that when circumstances like this will come under the control. All our preparations till the ground are complete. Stadiums have opened, but players cannot reach there by train. Because, there is a risk of players getting infected by it. The health of players is more important for us, so we do not want to make any haste. In the time of this crisis, cricket has not happened for the last 5-6 months. From this perspective, it is difficult to say which will be India’s first international series.”
At the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting last month, no decision was taken regarding the Asia Cup 2020. After the meeting, PCB CEO Wasim Khan said that the Asia Cup would be held on time. No change in the Asia Cup dates for the IPL will be allowed.
A total of 6 teams participate in the Asia Cup. These are India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The sixth team is decided by qualifiers.
The first Asia Cup was played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 1984. The tournament takes place every 2 years. The 2018 Asia Cup was also played in the UAE. Team India has so far won 7, Sri Lanka 5 and Pakistan 2 times. Bangladesh team is yet to win this trophy.
