The Indian cricket board, the BCCI, is still lobbying for the Asia Cup to be moved entirely out of Pakistan to a neutral venue. An unofficial gathering of Asia Cup officials is expected to be seen on the sidelines of the IPL 2023 final, which will be played in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
“The respective presidents of the Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka Cricket Boards will grace the IPL 2023 final to be held on May 28 at the Narendra Modi Stadium. We will hold discussions with them for outlining the future course of action in relation to Asia Cup 2023,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who is also the president of the Asian Cricket Council, said.
According to the Pakistani media, the BCCI has agreed to a hybrid model of match staging. This model, proposed by Pakistan Cricket Board head Najam Sethi, outlines the first four non-India league stage matches, including Pakistan’s home tie against Nepal, which will be played in Lahore before the tournament moves to a neutral venue. Officials from the BCCI have denied these reports.
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According to reports, the Indian board prefers to hold the entire tournament in Sri Lanka. Apart from batting for the hybrid model, Pakistan wants the UAE to be the neutral venue for better gate receipts, despite the hot weather.
The PCB has also linked the Asia Cup dispute to their participation in the October-November ODI World Cup in India. Four months before the event, the schedule for the marquee event has yet to be released.