NEW DELHI, Dec 11: The Asia Cup limited-overs tournament will be staged in Pakistan next June, as originally planned.

This was confirmed by the executive board of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), which met in Delhi.

The participating teams in the tournament are defending champions Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Hong Kong and United Arab Emirates.

The previous edition of the Asia Cup was held in mid-2004, with Sri Lanka defeating India by 25 runs to win the trophy.

The Asia Cup was originally scheduled for April 2008, but it was postponed to accommodate the Indian Premier League (IPL), a franchise-based Twenty20 tournament organised by the Indian board.

There were speculations that the continental event could be postponed again because of the political situation in Pakistan but Dr Nasim Ashraf, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief, dispelled those doubts, saying he had received an assurance from the BCCI that India would participate in the tournament.

The details of the matches will be released later.—Agenciess