Sourav Ganguly confirms India and Pak's participation in Asia Cup, to be held in Dubai

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly has said that the next edition of the Asia Cup will be held in Dubai and both India, as well as Pakistan, will be participating in the continental tournament. Pakistan was the designated host for the tournament scheduled for September. But with the BCCI making it clear that the Indian team would not be able to travel to the neighbouring country owing to security concerns, the event has been moved to Dubai.

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'Both India & Pakistan will play': Sourav Ganguly

"Asia Cup will be held in Dubai and both India and Pakistan will play," Ganguly told reporters at the Eden Gardens before leaving for Dubai for the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting, to be held on March 3.

Earlier, the BCCI had said they have no problem with Pakistan hosting the tournament, provided it is held at a neutral venue. The two nations have not featured in a bilateral series since the 2012/13 season and the only occasions where the die-hard cricket enthusiasts get to see these two teams in action is during the multi-nation tournaments i.e. either International Cricket Council (ICC) events or Asia Cups.  

Speaking about the Asia Cup, the 2018 edition of the continental tournament was originally supposed to be held in India. However, it was moved to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to the ongoing political tensions between India and Pakistan. Nonetheless, it did not matter as India beat Bangladesh in a thriller to retain their title and win their record seventh Asia Cup. 

Asia Cup 2020

The 15th edition of the Asia Cup is scheduled to be played in September 2020. Unlike the previous edition, the tournament will be played in the T20I format as a build-up to the ICC T20 World Cup which will be played in October this year. India had won the inaugural edition of the Asia Cup T20 in 2016 and will be the defending champions heading into the tournament. The dates of the tournament are yet to be finalized.

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(With PTI Inputs)