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Asia Cup (Source- Twitter)
The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has been in talks with the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and is currently discussing the possibility of changing venues for the Asia Cup 2023 Final and Super-4 matches, due to the heavy rainfall forecast in Colombo.
Sri Lanka was supposed to host five of the six Super Four games, the other being in Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium. Previously India and Pakistan were washed out due to heavy rain at Pallekele Cricket Stadium in Kandy. Similarly, there are predictions for rain in the upcoming games as well.
How disappointing! Rain mars the greatest contest in cricket: Najam Sethi
PCB Chairman Najam Sethi also expressed his views on the rainy weather and precipitation that are constantly affecting the games. He said, "How disappointing! Rain mars the greatest contest in cricket. But this was forecast. As PCB Chair, I urged the ACC to play in the UAE, but poor excuses were made to accommodate Sri Lanka. Too hot in Dubai, they said. But it was as hot when the Asia Cup was played there last time in September 2022 or when the IPL was played there in April 2014 and September 2020. Politics over sport Unforgivable!"
According to several reports, Dambulla was the venue suggested by Sri Lanka Cricket. As of now, rain caused an interruption in the two games at Pallekele Cricket Stadium. SLC was earlier interested in hosting the matches at Dambulla Cricket Stadium but broadcasters did not agree to that making Sri Lanka go with Pallekele and Colombo as the preferred venues for the Asia Cup 2023.
The ACC will take the final call and will decide on the future course of action in the next 24-48 hours. India is set to take on Nepal on Tuesday at Pallekele with heavy thunderstorms predicted in Kandy. The final league game will be played at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
ACC initially felt that the weather in Colombo would improve, but even though the first match at the venue is only on September 9, they are considering the option of shifting the tournament to Pallekele but there is also rain prediction. SLC is taking preventative measures to stave off the disruption caused by catastrophic weather.