Flood like situation in Colombo, there may be change in the schedule of Asia Cup; Matches can be held in Dambulla or Kandy

Continuous rains in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo have created flood-like conditions. Due to four days of rain, many areas of Colombo were submerged on Sunday. Super-4 matches are to be held there from Saturday. Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is thinking about changing the schedule of Super-4.

If the situation remains similar in Colombo then this match can be shifted to Pallekele Stadium in Dambulla or Kandy. However, the league match played between India and Pakistan in Pallekele on Saturday was also canceled due to rain. It was drizzling here the whole day even on Sunday. The match between India and Nepal on Monday in this stadium is also under the shadow of rain.

The ACC source said that we are considering all the things. If conditions do not improve the match may be shifted from Colombo to somewhere else. Dambulla is known as a city in Sri Lanka where there is less rainfall. It is known that earlier ACC wanted to hold most of the matches in Dambulla, but the Indian team did not want to play there, hence India's league matches were held at Pallekele Stadium.

On the other hand, former Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Najam Sethi has also raised questions about the schedule of the Asia Cup. Sethi, who took over as interim chairman after the dismissal of Rameez Raja as PCB chairman last year, took aim at the ACC and said that the cancellation of the India-Pakistan match due to rain was disappointing. He said that rain disrupted the biggest match of cricket. This was also predicted.

As PCB Chairman, I had urged ACC to play in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but useless arguments were given for hosting the event in Sri Lanka. He said that it would be extremely hot in Dubai but the last time the Asia Cup was played there in September 2022, it was equally hot. The weather was similar when the IPL was played there in April 2014 and September 2020.

It is known that after the Indian team refused to play in Pakistan, the Asia Cup is being played in a hybrid model. Four matches are being played in Pakistan while the remaining matches are being hosted by PCB in Sri Lanka. Last year, the Asia Cup was organized in UAE around the same time but it was played in T-20 format.