Asia Cup 2016 to be held in Bangladesh

It has been confirmed - the next year’s Asia Cup will be scheduled in Bangladesh for the third consecutive time. 

The T20 format tournament will feature India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and an associate nation, starting on February 24 and the final match to be held on March 6.

"Pakistan raised the point that Bangladesh should host next year's Asia Cup and everyone agreed," BCB president Nazmul Hassan told reporters in Dhaka on Wednesday. 

"Four Test nations will get direct entry while one Associate nation will come through the qualifying tournament. We also discussed whether there can be more cricket at the Under-19 level between the Asian countries.”

Meanwhile, Afghanistan, Oman, Hong Kong and the UAE will compete to qualify for the Asia Cup as Associate nation.

The previous two season of the Asia Cup were held in Dhaka in 2012 and 2014. This will be the fifth time the tournament is being held in Bangladesh, having previously hosted in 1988 and 2000 too.