India are the defending Asia Cup champions. (Source: AP)
Asia Cup 2018, scheduled to be hosted in India in September, has now been moved to the United Arab Emirates due to political tensions between India and Pakistan, claims a report.
Political tensions between India and Pakistan is the reason why the tournament has been moved to UAE. Asian Cricket Council and PCB Chairman Najam Sethi was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying, “The ACC deliberated on the matter and decided that this was the best way forward.”
The Asia Cup will be played by full members India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan while the sixth country to participate is yet to be decided through a playoff among UAE, Hong Kong, Nepal and Oman. This is the 14th edition of the tournament and India enter the tournament as defending champions.
The Emerging Teams’ Asia Cup 2018 will be co hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Initially planned in April, the tournament has now been postponed to December. Meanwhile, Pakistan will the next host to ACC Annual General Meeting, scheduled to be held in December.
India had clinched the Asia Cup trophy for a record sixth time after beating hosts Bangladesh by eight wickets, riding on Shikhar Dhawan’s scintillating 44-ball 60 in a rain-truncated final.