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The 8th Pepsi Asia Cup, which was scheduled to be held in Dhaka next winter, has been reportedly shifted to Colombo, according to a source close to sponsors Pepsi.

The 8th Asia Cup was originally scheduled for early this year in Dhaka. But the four-nation meet, also involving Bangladesh, was deferred to March next year because of the position of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), who said that the Indian team would not be available then due to their World Cup preparations.

Following the Indian announcement, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) rescheduled the tourney for next March.

In a recent development, it was learnt that the Colombo-based ACC is now planning to take the tournament away from Dhaka to Colombo. But the reason could not be known immediately.

According to the source, the local Pepsi officials in Bangladesh are already aware of the matter.

However, it could not be confirmed from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) yesterday about the authenticity of the news. When contacted, a senior BCB official refused to make any comment.

The official, who opted not to be quoted, however added that it could not be true because, according to the ACC constitution, the tournament is supposed to be held by rotation in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sharjah. The tournament cannot be held in Sri Lanka now because the last Asia Cup was held in Sri Lanka in 1997.

The squabble over the Bangabandhu National Stadium could be one of the reasons for the ACC attitude, if the switch to Colombo materialises.