No Asia Cup this year if India reaches finals of WTC

If India qualifies for the finals of the World Test Championship (WTC), the latest edition of the Asia Cup will be likely postponed a second time, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ehsan Mani said at a press conference Sunday.

“Asia Cup was set to go last year but it got postponed to
this year. Right now, it looks like Asia Cup won’t be going ahead this year as
the WTC finals are set to go ahead in June. Sri Lanka had said that they would
try to host the tournament in June,” Mani told reporters.

The tournament was originally slated for September 2020,
hosted by Pakistan in the UAE. It was cancelled on July 9, 2020. Pakistan
exchanged hosting rights for the 2021 edition with Sri Lanka, who held the
rights to the 2022 Asia Cup. The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) announced a June
2021 window for the tournament in Sri Lanka. Confirmed dates have not yet been
released.

The WTC final will be played at Lord’s from June 18, 2021.

On Thursday, India beat England by 10 wickets in the third
test match held at Ahmedabad to secure a 2-1 lead in the four-match series. The
defeat rules England out of the WTC final against New Zealand, who currently
rank second on the table. If England beat India in the fourth test, India slips
from the top of the table to third place and Australia take on the Kiwis at
Lord’s.

“It looks like India has reached the finals and they will
clash against New Zealand. This is why the Asia Cup set to be played in Sri
Lanka won’t go ahead. We are waiting for confirmation but if it does not go
ahead, we are planning for the future,” said PCB CEO Wasim Khan.

Article source: https://www.samaa.tv/sports/2021/02/no-asia-cup-this-year-if-india-reaches-finals-of-wtc/