COLOMBO, May 12: Sri Lanka signed an agreement with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) on Wednesday to host the six-nation Asia Cup in July. ACC chief executive Ashraful Haq and Jagmohan Dalmiya, the chairman of the tournament organising committee, met Sri Lanka cricket board officials to finalise the details.

The Asia Cup was last held in Dhaka in June 2000 when Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 39 runs in the final of what was then a four-nation tournament. It has been revived after the resumption of bilateral cricket ties between India and Pakistan and the ACC now plans to stage the event every two years.

The ACC will also seek changes to the International Cricket Council's Ten Year Plan to create space in the global calendar for the Asian Test Championship and more India-Pakistan tours.

"Cricket in Asia was suffering because India and Pakistan were not playing," Dalmiya told reporters. "We need the four main teams in Asia to be playing against each other if we are to develop cricket in the region."

"We are confident that the tournament can be played every two years but the only problem is the current ICC 10-year (plan) which leaves us with such a heavy schedule," Dalmiya added.

"This must be revised and we will be taking up the matter during the ICC Executive Board meeting in June." The Sri Lanka tournament will include two round-robin stages and a final with a total of 13 one-dayers, all to be granted official IODI status, played in three separate venues - SSC, Dambulla and Premadasa - from July 16 to Aug 2.

Group A: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Hong Kong.