Asia Cup postponed due to rising COVID-19 cases, confirms Sri Lankan Cricket Board

The Sri Lankan Cricket Board announced on Wednesday that the Asia Cup 2021 will not be held this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, reported the Sri Lankan paper Daily Mirror.

The Asia Cup, which was last held in 2018, was scheduled to be held in June, however, Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Ashley de Silva said that it will be difficult to host the tournament due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"Due to the prevailing situation, it will not be possible to play the tournament in June this year," De Silva was quoted by the publication.

Last month, the PCB had confirmed that the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Asia Cup has been postponed to 2022.

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"PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani briefed the BoG on matters relating to the International Cricket Council as well as this year’s ICC T20 World Cup and the ACC Asia Cup, which has now been postponed to 2022," a statement from the PCB said.

However, nothing was said by the Sri Lankan Cricket Board on the tournament.

This is the second time that the tournament has been postponed, the 2020 edition of the Asia Cup was postponed due to coronavirus, and the ACC looked at a window in June 2021 to host the tournament.

Following PCB's offer to swap hosting rights with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), the tournament was scheduled to be played in Sri Lanka, with four subcontinent sides, along with Afghanistan and an Asian qualifier.