Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Wednesday informed the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) that the board will not be in position to host the upcoming edition of the Asia Cup 2022 T20 because of the economic and political crisis in the country. (More Cricket News)
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.
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The official stated that the SLC officials conveyed that they would like to host the tournament 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.
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The protests in the capital Colombo have been taking place on a larger scale and forced cricket officials to shift the second Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, originally scheduled for Colombo, to Galle.
On Wednesday, Sri Lankan lawmakers chose 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.
The vote means Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister and acting President, will succeed former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and finish the term ending in 2024 that Rajapaksa abandoned by fleeing the country and resigning earlier this month.
