Sri Lanka Crisis: Bangladesh identified as stand-by venue for Asia Cup 2022

Sri Lanka is scheduled to host Asia Cup 2022

Colombo, July 12: The Asia Cup 2022, originally scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka in September, has once again been pushed into uncertainty after the internal crisis in the Island nation recently.

Now, it has been learnt that Bangladesh has been drafted in as the standby venue for the Asia Cup 2022 if Sri Lanka cannot host the event courtesy the civil unrest.

However, a final decision has not been taken as the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is closely watching the unfolding events in Sri Lanka.

The ACC is also tailoring in the fact that Australia completed a full-fledged series in Sri Lanka amid the crisis.

This has also made the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) officials hopeful of conducting the Asia Cup 2022 in the country itself despite the on-going turmoil.

It may be recalled that the last edition of the Asia Cup was held in 2018 in the UAE and India emerged champions in that tournament, defeating Bangladesh in the final.

People has taken to the streets of Colombo and has forced resignations from Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, his successor Ranil Wickremesinghe and president Gotabaya Rajapaska, who has fled the country as per reports.

The unprecedented developments witnessed in were inevitable in the face of people's raging fury against the family over its handling of the economic crisis, leading strategic affairs experts in India said on Sunday.

At the same time, they said the economic situation is unlikely to improve dramatically just because President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has decided to step down, paving the way for the formation of an all-party government.

Embattled President Rajapaksa announced on Saturday that he would step down on July 13, hours after thousands of angry protesters stormed his official residence and set Prime Minister 's private house on fire.

Wickremesinghe also said he would resign. "This was becoming inevitable. The popular sentiment had turned against the Rajapaksas. They lost their political capital," Ambassador Ashok K Kantha told PTI.

Kantha, who served as Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka from 2009 to 2013, said there was a "fairly strong political demand and consensus" that the Rajapaksas must step down.

Prime Minister, elder brother of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, stepped down on May 9 after massive anti-government protests rocked Sri Lanka.