The Asia Cricket Council (ACC) might cancel Sri Lanka’s Asia Cup 2022 Hosting Rights due to Baseless “Politically Motivated” Claims made by Island’s clueless politicians in last few days, Cricket Age exclusively learns.
The Asia Cup, scheduled to begin on August 27, was moved from Sri Lanka to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), ACC announced last week. The ACC said that Sri Lanka Cricket will retain hosting rights for the tournament.
However, following ACC’s announcement, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Nalin Bandara Jayamaha in parliament alleged that there was financial fraud behind the shift of the Asia Cup from Sri Lanka to the UAE.
“Officials of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) had shifted the venue of the Asia Cup by hoodwinking cricket officials of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan,” he alleged.
“They claim countries such as India and Pakistan had refused to play in Sri Lanka. This is a blatant lie as no participating nation had refused to play in Sri Lanka,” he further suggested.
“SLC has claimed that it will get dollars 6 million as fees for hosting the tournament. However Sri Lanka could have earned a sum of dollars 50 million if the Asia cup was held in Sri Lanka,” he also alleged.
However, when Cricket Age Inquired, it learned that amid the ongoing political unrest in the Sri Lanka, majority of ACC members had raised questions over the security of International teams in the Island.
“At a time, when even country’s president and prime minister’s houses were burnt, what’s the insurance of International teams like India and Pakistan security. That was the main concerned of ACC members that prompted them to shift the venue of the Asia Cup” a source close to the development, told Cricket Age.
It has further learned that while SLC would have earned approximately 4 million USD by hosting Asia Cup In Sri Lanka, now the board could potentially earn 6.5 million dollars!
However, Bandara’s politically motivated untimely, baseless claims can deprive SLC from Asia Cup hosting rights this year.
“ACC is very much concerned about false claims like this. The decision to shift the venue of the Asia Cup was taken by the ACC members considering Sri Lanka’s political, financial instability, along with worsening law and order” an ACC source, close to the development, told Cricket Age.
Accordingly, following baseless claims by MP Bandara, ACC might considering giving Asia Cup 2022 hosting rights to Bangladesh or any other member country.
“Like any other Sport, Cricket also must not be Influenced by politics. However, In Sri Lanka, especially in last one and half month, clueles politicians like Bandara and his party’s president Sajith Premadasa are deliberately trying to destabilize country’s most cherished game. If this continues, Sri Lanka could be deprived of Asia Cup 2022 hosting rights and it will be a disaster” the source added further.
“As a party, SJB has done and dusted now and has lost it’s ground. So it seems that now party’s MP’s have shifted their focus in destroying the game of cricket in the country” a Sri Lanka Cricket Expert told Cricket Age.
