Sri Lanka to host Asia Cup

Officials met up in Colombo on Wednesday to finalise details

Sri Lanka will host the limited-overs Asia Cup, which returns in July after a four-year absence.

Asian Cricket Council chief Ashraful Haq and Jagmohan Dalmiya, chairman of the organising committee, met Sri Lanka officials to finalise the details.

The tournament was last held in Dhaka in 2000, when Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 39 runs in the final.

It has been revived after the resumption of bilateral cricketing ties between India and Pakistan.

The ACC now plans to stage the event every two years.

The ACC will also seek changes to the International Cricket Council's international playing schedule to create space in the calendar for the Asian Test Championship and more India-Pakistan tours.

We are confident the tournament can be played every two years Jagmohan Dalmiya

"Cricket in Asia was suffering because India and Pakistan were not playing," Dalmiya, also president of the Indian board, said.

"We need the four main teams in Asia to be playing against each other if we are to develop cricket in the region."

"We are confident the tournament can be played every two years but the only problem is the current ICC 10-year plan, which leaves us with such a heavy schedule.

"This must be revised and we will be taking up the matter during the ICC executive board meeting in June."

The Sri Lanka tournament will include two round-robin stages and a final with a total of 13 one-dayers, played in three separate venues - SSC, Dambulla and Premadasa - from 16 July to 2 August.

The format has been altered to accommodate two new additions, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong.

Hong Kong will play their first-ever official one-day international when they face Bangladesh in the first fixture of the tournament.

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Asia Cup schedule:

Group A: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Hong Kong
Group B: Sri Lanka, India, UAE

Phase one:

16 July: Bangladesh v Hong Kong (SSC), India v UAE (Dambulla)
17 July: Pakistan v Bangladesh (SSC), Sri Lanka v UAE (Dambulla)
18 July: Pakistan v Hong Kong (SSC), Sri Lanka v India (Dambulla)

Phase two:

21 July: A2 v B2 (SSC), A1 v B1 (Premadasa)
23 July: A2 v B1 (Premadasa)
25 July: A1 v B2 (Premadasa)
27 July: B1 v B2 (Premadasa)
29 July: A1 v A2 (Premadasa)
1 Aug: Final (Premadasa)
2 Aug: Reserve day