T20 to decide Asia Cup

Bangladesh will host the Asia Cup cricket championship for the third time running in February and March despite recent security fears which prompted Australia to cancel a tour, the national cricket chief said.

At a meeting in Singapore this week, the Asian Cricket Council decided Bangladesh will hold the tournament, to be played in the Twenty20 format for the first time, just before the ICC World T20 in neighbouring India.

“Pakistan proposed that Bangladesh should host next year’s Asia Cup and everyone agreed,” Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan told reporters late Wednesday.

Featuring five Asian countries, the tournament will be played from February 24 to March 6, with the World T20 running from March to April.

Test nations Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will get direct entry.

Afghanistan, Oman, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates will play a qualifying tournament in November in the UAE for the fifth place.

(AFP)