'The negative publicity shown all over the world' - SLC Secretary on the reason behind Asia Cup's shift

The Asia Cup 2022 schedule was recently announced, and the marquee event is set to be hosted in the United Arab Emirates. The event was primarily set to be held in Sri Lanka, but it was shifted to UAE amid the ongoing economic and political crisis in the island nation. Sri Lanka Cricket will continue to remain the hosts, with only the venue being changed.

The opening match on August 27 will see Sri Lanka and Afghanistan locking horns and the contest will be followed by India vs Pakistan clash on August 28. SLC secretary Mohan de Silva opened up about the shift of the venue and said that the step was taken keeping in mind the negative publicity that would have affected the game, leading to the stakeholder being unconvinced.

“They felt that the situation in Sri Lanka was not conducive to garner the confidence of the stakeholders. Not only the member countries, but a tournament of this magnitude requires other stakeholders, like the broadcasters, sponsors, etc. What they felt was that the negative publicity shown all over the world, with the petrol queues and all that, didn’t help our cause, ” Mohan de Silva was quoted by ESPNCricinfo.

“Sponsors were finding it difficult to get insured, and the security clearance for broadcast crews to enter Sri Lanka was also an issue. The delegates who wanted to come from the other countries also weren’t prepared to come,” SEL CEO Ashley de Silva said.

When the official announcement about the decision was made, BCCI secretary Jay Shah mentioned that the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) had given a lot of thought to the same and had mutually arrived at the decision. Sri Lanka hosted Australia for a multi-format series last month, where the protesters had almost interfered in the match.

Sixth team to join Asia Cup soon

Six teams will participate in the tournament and have been divided into two groups of three teams each. Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan are the five teams who have secured their spot, and a sixth team will be added soon. The winner of the Asia Cup 2022 Qualifiers will be the sixth team to enter the mega event.