After much speculation, the Asian Cricket Council finally confirmed that the ACC Asia Cup will be hosted by Sri Lanka Cricket in the UAE.

It means, the Lankan cricket board remained the official organizer of the event, but they’ll have to host the event in the UAE due to the ongoing political turmoil in the island nation.

This year’s Asia Cup will be played in T20 format between August 27 and September 11.

The decision was earlier announced by Sourav Ganguly, the president of BCCI, but an official announcement from the Asian Cricket Council was due until Wednesday.

Also read: Bangladesh T20I team leaves Dhaka for Zimbabwe

In a press release, the Asian Cricket Council said considering the current political situation in Sri Lanka, the board has decided it would be appropriate to relocate the event venue to the UAE.

“We were really looking forward to hosting our Asian neighbours in Sri Lanka for the much-anticipated Asia Cup,” as Shammi Silva, the president of Sri Lanka Cricket quoted in the press release. “While I fully stand by the ACC's decision to shift the Asia Cup to the UAE considering the current context and the magnitude of the event, Sri Lanka Cricket will work closely with the ACC and Emirates Cricket Board to ensure that we still have an exciting edition of the Asia Cup.”

Also read: Will try our best to win ICC Women's T20 World Cup: Joty

Jay Shah, the president of the Asian Cricket Council, said it took much deliberation to decide the relocation of the Asia Cup. He also said that the effort was high to host the event in Sri Lanka.

A total of five teams— Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka— are scheduled to take part in this year’s Asia Cup which will be played in the T20 format.