Karachi, July 20: Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Wednesday informed the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) that the board will not be in a position to host the upcoming edition of the Asia Cup T20 because of the economic and political crisis in the country.
The development comes after the SLC recently postponed the third edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) due to the ongoing crisis.
“Sri Lankan cricket has conveyed that due to the existing political and economic situation in their country specially where foreign exchange is concerned it is not an ideal situation for them to host such a mega-event of six teams in the island,” an ACC source said.
The official stated that the SLC officials conveyed that they would like to host the country in the UAE or some other country.
The official also added that the ACC is likely to make an announcement in the next few days, given the Asia Cup is slated to be held in August and September this year before the T20 World Cup in Australia.
“UAE is not the final replacement venue, it could be some other country, even India as the ACC, Sri Lanka cricket will first have to talk with Emirates Cricket Board officials to get final approval for the event,” the official said.
Sri Lankan lawmakers have chosen six-time Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as president, defying the risk the vote would re-ignite turmoil among a public outraged by the South Asian country’s dire economic, humanitarian and political crisis. (Agencies)
