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The ninth Asia Cup will be played over nine days starting end of next June, a top Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official said on Tuesday.

Shafqat Naghmi, PCB’s Chief Operating Officer, told ‘The News’ that the event was confirmed by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) at a meeting held in New Delhi earlier this week. He said that all the matches of the Asia Cup are likely to be held in Karachi where the weather would be less harsh than other parts of the country during that time of the year.

Holders Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh will compete in the event alongside tournament minnows Hong Kong and UAE. The previous edition of the Asia Cup was held in 2004, when Sri Lanka defeated India in the final.

The ninth Asia Cup was initially scheduled for April 2008, but it was postponed due to a clash of dates with the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) organised by the Indian board.

There were also rumours that the tournament will not be held next year because of uncertain political environment in Pakistan. However, Naghmi said that the ACC has quashed all such speculations by announcing that the Asia Cup will be held in June next year.

Source:Cricket News