Asia Cup 2023 All Set To Be Moved From Pakistan, BCCI Fine With PCB Hosting The Event In UAE- Reports

The Asia Cup 2023, which will be the 16th edition of the marquee competition organised by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), is all set to be moved out of Pakistan. The competition could be moved to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where the previous edition of the event was hosted by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).

On Saturday, February 4, the Asian Cricket Council held its Executive Board Meeting in Bahrain and at the meeting, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) once again made it very clear that the India National Cricket Team will not be travelling to Pakistan for the upcoming Asia Cup.

The reason behind the India National Cricket Team not travelling to Pakistan is that the BCCI won’t get ‘clearance from the Indian government’ to travel to the host country.

Last year, the BCCI secretary and the ACC president, Jay Shah, spoke to the media after BCCI’s AGM and said that the Asia Cup 2023 would be moved out of Pakistan as India can’t travel to the country. The statement made by Shah led to tensions between the two cricket boards, with the PCB even threatening to pull out of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, which will be held in India.

Notably, the BCCI is fine with the PCB hosting the competition in UAE. The matches of the upcoming Asia Cup could be played in three venues in UAE – Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah – if the Pakistan Cricket Board agrees.

“The Indian government will not give permission for the Indian team to travel to Pakistan. The BCCI has tried to make other boards understand the situation. So everyone thought to wait for one more month,” a BCCI source informed, as quoted by the Indian Express.

Reportedly, Jay Shah also spoke with the PCB chairman Najam Sethi regarding the matter. The Pakistan Cricket Board are keen to host the 50-over competition in Pakistan and they highlighted the fact that several big teams, including England, New Zealand and Australia, have travelled to the country in the recent past. Also, the Pakistan Cricket Board wants cricketing ties with India to resume like earlier.

ACC Had A Constructive Dialogue On The Upcoming Asia Cup 2023 – Asian Cricket Council

At the Asian Cricket Council’s Executive Board Meeting on Saturday in Bahrain the officials had a “constructive dialogue” on the upcoming tournament. However, the decision on whether the tournament will be played in Pakistan was not made. Also, at the next month’s meeting the decision on the hosts and venues will be made.

“The ACC had a constructive dialogue on the upcoming Asia Cup 2023. The Board agreed to continue discussions on operations, timelines and any other specifics with a view to ensure the success of the tournament. An update on the matter would be taken on the next ACC Executive Board Meeting to be held in March 2023,” ACC stated in an official media release.

“In another development, the executive board approved the inclusion of teams from Japan (JAPAN CRICKET ASSOCIATION) and Indonesia (PERSUTAN CRICKET INDONESIA) in the ACC pathway tournaments to participate in the events as invitees,” the ACC further added.

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