Rescheduled Asia Cup will not take place until 2008

The postponement of the Asia Cup will hamper the development of cricket in the region and deprive the sport of much-needed revenue, Ashraful Haq, chief executive of the Asian Cricket Council, told AFP on Sunday. The tournament was indefinitely shelved last week after a request from the new Indian board.

"It (postponement) is a significant loss to cricket in the continent, because the finances generated were due to be spent on development," Haq said, adding that the event is unlikely to be rearranged for at least two years. "Since the schedules of teams at international level are so hectic it would not be possible to hold the Asia Cup until 2008. An ideal opportunity to distribute funds among member countries was wasted.

"Countries like Oman, Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Nepal and the Maldives needed these funds to raise the infrastructure, but they now have to wait for a few more years."

The Asia Cup was expected to generate around $16.5 million from TV rights and sales. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka received about $2.5 million each from the $19 million in revenues from last year's tournament. Hong Kong and the UAE, who also played there, received $300,000 each, while the rest of the fund was spent on developing cricket among the associate-member nations.