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'Uncertainty over'

Asia Cup schedule likely to be announced today

Sports Reporter
The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is most likely to release the Asia Cup schedule * during an official press
conference today to remove doubts over the tournament taking place in Bangladesh, if any remain.
The ACC has arranged the media briefing to give an update about the tournament which will take place in Bangladesh from February 25 to March 8. The recent political turmoil in the country has brought the security issue to the top of the agenda ahead of the forthcoming international cricket events in the country. The last ACC meeting in Colombo, in the first week of this month, reconfirmed Bangladesh as a host for the meet but still a Pakistani newspaper yesterday raised the possibility of the event being hosted by Sri Lanka.
Syed Ashraful Haq, chief executive officer of the ACC, now in Dhaka to attend the press conference, however said: "It (the report) is not true."
There have also been concerns about Pakistan's participation but Haq made it clear that it would be a five-nation tournament as Afghanistan has been given the opportunity to compete with India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
"As far as I know, five teams will compete and eleven matches will be held," Haq added.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) secretary Nishantha Ranatunga also rejected reports that Sri Lanka had been sounded out by Asian cricket authorities on the possibility of hosting the Asia Cup.
"There is no such thing. No one has asked us to host the Asia Cup," Ranatunga told AFP. The original decision of the ACC stands."
Ranatunga also said that Sri Lanka is to go ahead with a tour of Bangladesh later this month after carrying out its own security assessment.
"We are very positive about playing in Bangladesh. We look forward to playing there," he said.
The confirmation came after a two-member SLC security committee comprising vice president Mohan de Silva and the board's former chief executive Ajith Jayasekera inspected the venues, the security arrangements, met with the law enforcing agencies and spoke positively about the upcoming tour.
Sri Lanka will arrive in Dhaka on January 24 to play two Tests, three ODIs and two T2OIs.
"I think all the doubt is over now," said Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) acting CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury in response to SLC's go-ahead message.
SLC's security committee members however did not include the Sylhet Divisional Stadium in their inspection schedule and thus made it all but clear that the newly-built venue has almost no chance of make its international debut by hosting the first ODI of the three-match series.