Colombo: Sri Lanka will host the long-awaited Asia Cup limited overs cricket tournament in July, board officials said on Friday. “Sri Lanka have agreed to host the tournament after touring Zimbabwe, but we don’t have the exact dates. We are working on it right now,” a board official said.

The six-nation Asia Cup has not been held since May 2000 owing to tensions between India and Pakistan.

The tournament was scheduled to be held in Pakistan in April 2004, soon after India’s tour to that country. But the idea was dropped after India said they had a commitment to play a Test series in Bangladesh soon after the Pakistan trip.

The four Test-playing nations in the region — India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh — along with qualifiers Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will take part in the Asia Cup. India have won the tournament three times, Sri Lanka twice and Pakistan once. (PTI)