Asia Cup might be held in July: Dalmiya

The much-delayed Asia Cup will now tentatively be held in July, according to Asian Cricket Foundation (ACF) chairman Jagmohan Dalmiya.

The six-nation tournament was originally scheduled for April in Pakistan at the end of India's forthcoming Test series.

The Indian cricket board president Dalmiya said that the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) decided to defer the dates tentatively to July as India had a commitment to play a Test series in Bangladesh soon after the Pakistan tour.

"Our

itinerary is quite crowded. We have our series against Pakistan, following which we are scheduled to go to Bangladesh," Dalmiya said. Dalmiya heads ACF, the marketing wing of the ACC.

Dalmiya said that the exact dates of the tournament would be finalised soon, once Pakistan - the only team that has not confirmed for the tournament - gave its nod.

Other than India and Pakistan, the Cup features Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the two qualifiers - United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong. The biennial tournament has not been held since May 2000, in Dhaka.