Last Updated on 3 years by Charbel Coorey

Cricket News: Where will the 2022 Asia Cup be held? | What format will the 2022 Asia Cup be?

The 2022 Asia Cup is set to be moved from Sri Lanka to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to the political and economic situation in the island nation. According to ESPNCricinfo, the decision was made at the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting earlier in the week, with the significant shortage in fuel in Sri Lanka considered a major concern.

Asia Cup 2022 set to be moved to the UAE

Dubai and Sharjah are set to host the 2022 Asia Cup between August 27 and September 11 after the tournament was originally scheduled for Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) will still be the official host, and while they were previously confident – as recently as last week – of hosting the tournament, the ongoing unrest makes it difficult to host such an event.

The news comes as Sri Lanka successfully hosted Australia for a full-fledged tour and are currently playing Pakistan. However, hosting a bilateral series is different to this Asia Cup, where as many as nine teams will participate.

Ashley de Silva, CEO of SLC, confirmed this in an interview with ESPNCricinfo on July 17. “Hosting two teams is not the same as hosting ten teams. You have to provide ten buses with fuel for all of them,” he said.

de Silva continued, “You have to give every team a luggage van with fuel, and transport for the managers. You also have to give the sponsors transport and ensure that they are getting the mileage that they want from their sponsorship. The fuel for the generators to run the floodlights will also have to be found.”

Asia Cup 2022 schedule to be announced on July 22 in a T20 format

The Asia Cup will be played in the T20 format ahead of this year’s T20 World Cup in Australia. This will be the first such instance of the UAE hosting a T20 Asia Cup, after the region hosted the tournament in an ODI format in 2018, where India prevailed over Bangladesh in a thrilling final in Dubai.

The schedule, to be announced on July 22, is set to have two Pakistan vs India matches in the league phase. Such a fixture is always going to bring the big crowds, and the situation in Sri Lanka would be a significant hurdle.

“There are also two India vs Pakistan matches, and there will be people who want to travel and watch those matches. People might not be happy to travel to Sri Lanka because of the situation.” de Silva said.