The 2020 Asia Cup was scheduled to be the 15th edition of the Asia Cup cricket tournament, with the matches being played as Twenty20 Internationals. It was scheduled to be held in September 2020. India were the defending champions. However, in July 2020, the tournament was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the next edition of the tournament is scheduled to take place in June 2021, with Sri Lanka Cricket hosting the competition.
Background
In December 2018, the Pakistan Cricket Board were granted the rights to host the tournament by the Asian Cricket Council. However, it was unclear if the matches will be played in Pakistan or the United Arab Emirates. After the announcement was made, the Board of Control for Cricket in India requested that the PCB change the event's venue due to ongoing security concerns. Pakistan last held a multi-team international tournament in 2008, with the 2008 Asia Cup. Since then, only a handful of international matches have taken place in Pakistan following the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team. In May 2019, the ACC confirmed that Pakistan will host the tournament. The decision to host the tournament in Pakistan raised doubts over India's participation, with the ongoing political tension between the two countries. In October 2019, the decision to host the tournament in Pakistan was still to be agreed by the ACC, due to doubts raised over India's participation. In January 2020, various news outlets reported that Pakistan would not be hosting the tournament, due to the ongoing tensions between Pakistan and India. On 28 February 2020, the BCCI President Sourav Ganguly stated that "the Asia Cup will be held in Dubai and both India and Pakistan will play." The following day, Ehsan Mani Chairman of the PCB, contradicted Ganguly's statement, saying that the venue has not been finalised. Initially, The ACC was scheduled to meet on 3 March 2020 to discuss the location of the tournament, but the meeting was moved back until the end of March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 7 March 2020, Ehsan Mani said that the tournament would be played at a neutral venue. The following month, Mani admitted that the tournament may not take place at all due to the pandemic. In June 2020, following a meeting with the ACC, the PCB said they would be willing to letSri Lanka host the tournament, with India unwilling to travel to Pakistan. The ACC issued a press release following the meeting stating that "in light of the impact and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, possible venue options for the Asia Cup 2020 were discussed and it was decided to take the final decision in due course". On 8 July 2020, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly stated that the tournament had been cancelled, although no official confirmation had been made by the Asian Cricket Council. The following day, the tournament was officially postponed.
