NEW DELHI: Cricket's Asia Cup will switch from the one-day format to Twenty20 next year with the format of future tournaments matching that of the subsequent World Cup, a top official said Thursday.
The next edition of the regional showpiece will be held as a T20 event for the first time, ahead of the World Twenty20 in India in March-April next year, the official said.
Then in 2018, it will be a one-day tournament because the 50-overs-a-side World Cup will be played in England in 2019, outgoing Asian Cricket Council (ACC) CEO Ashraful Haq told AFP.
The Asia Cup has been played with the 50-overs-a-side format since it began in 1984.
"The changed formats are confirmed but the host nation for next year's tournament and the dates have not yet been decided," Haq added.
The upcoming Asia Cup is likely to be a six-nation event, with the big four -- India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh -- being joined by two non-Test nations.
Afghanistan took part in the previous tournament in Bangladesh last year which was won by Sri Lanka.
Haq confirmed that the Kuala Lumpur-based ACC will shut shop by June 30 and the International Cricket Council will take over its operations, including the conduct of the Asia Cup.
"The ICC will now look after the development of cricket in Asia," said Haq, a former official of the Bangladesh Cricket Board who has served at the ACC since its inception in 1983.
India and Sri Lanka have won the Asia Cup five times each, while Pakistan has bagged the title twice.
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