Sharjah cricket stadium, CreditL PaddyBriggs/via Wikimedia Commons
The 2018 Asia Cup has been moved from India to the United Arab Emirates after Pakistan refused to play in the neighboring rival country as relations simmer between them, the Kuala Lumpur-based Asian Cricket Council said Tuesday.
The Asian gala was due to be held in India in September, sparking protests from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that called for the event to be relocated.
The tournament is likely to be played between September 13 and 28.
The decision was taken by the Executive Board members at the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
“The ACC deliberated on the matter and decided that this was the best way forward,” ACC and PCB chairman Najam Sethi told media.
Like so many other things in the region, the Asia Cup has been marred by strained Pakistan-India relations since its inception when the UAE hosted the first edition in 1984.
Two years later, India pulled out of the event in Sri Lanka, while Pakistan refused to send its team to India when it hosted the cup in 1991.
With Pakistan and India unable to host, Bangladesh held three straight Asian Cups from 2012 to 2016.
Besides the two South Asian and world giants – Pakistan and India – this year’s Asia Cup will feature Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, according to the ESPN website.
The sixth team will be determined via a playoff that includes UAE, Hong Kong, Nepal, Singapore, Malaysia and Oman.
The UAE competition will ill be the 14th edition of Asia Cup. The first 12 were staged as ODI competitions, while the previous Asia Cup in 2016 was the first to be held as a T20I event, effectively as a warm-up event ahead of the World T20.
Pakistan will host the next ACC Annual General Meeting later this year.
