Asia Cup 2025: BCB pressures BCCI to show up in Dhaka for ACC meeting
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The Asian Cricket Council is a general body that is entitled to make decisions over cricket tournaments that will be played between teams within the continent. One of the biggest such tournaments is the continental championship of the Asia Cup.
The Asian Cricket Council meets once a year for its annual meeting. This time around, with a crucial decision to be made, it is the Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) turn to host the annual conference of the continental body.
Though this seems a great opportunity for the nation, several heavyweight cricket boards, especially the BCCI, have reportedly asked for a favour from the ACC to shift the annual meeting out of Dhaka, as under the current political scenario, they will not be able to send their officials to the neighbouring province.
BCB expects every ACC member to be on board for the annual meeting
On Monday, the BCB president, Aminul Islam, claimed that he is looking forward to the presence of every member of the Asian Cricket Council for the annual meeting, which is scheduled in Dhaka on the 24th of July.
The BCCI's participation has been under uncertainty, while there were also claims made that the Sri Lanka Cricket officials have also decided to pull out of the ACC general meeting.
These decisions were made amid political tensions between the two nations, as the BCCI and BCB jointly postponed the India vs Bangladesh white-ball tour to be held in August this year. Reportedly, the officials who don't visit Bangladesh are likely to be available online.
Aminul ruled out any such possibility of non-participation, as he said (as quoted by Cricbuzz), "We will hold an official dinner on the 23rd and the ACC AGM in Dhaka on the 24th (July) in Dhaka, where almost every country will participate."
"The Asian Cricket Council is the mother body, or governing body, of cricket in Asia, and previously, we have never hosted a major meeting of the Asian Cricket Council."
"This is a big achievement for us, and till now everything is going according to plan (as far as hosting the ACC meeting concerned), and you will receive further updates in due course," added the BCB chief.
Asia Cup 2025's fate to be decided in this meeting
Despite claims of non-participation in the ACC annual meet, the meeting has not been shifted out of Dhaka. The ACC is currently headed by the Pakistan Cricket Board chief Mohsin Naqvi.
The BCCI has already been sent an official notice on the future of the Asia Cup, and if the board wants to retain the hosting rights, they would have to adapt to a hybrid model, much like the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
However, with several such crucial decisions awaited, the uncertainty of BCCI's participation in the annual meeting has also brought uncertainty over the fate of the Asia Cup 2025.
ALSO READ: Asia Cup 2025- 5 Teams Confirmed for tournament, 1 team kicked out
BCB President hints at Shakib Al Hasan's return for Bangladesh
An important insight from the BCB president's press conference has been the availability of Bangladeshi legend Shakib Al Hasan. He has been implicated in several legal cases, and hence, his availability for Bangladesh has been under severe doubt.
Shakib, the veteran all-rounder, has retired from Tests as well as the T20I format, and his return would likely be possible only in the ODI format.
"Shakib is available as a cricketer. He hasn't retired from all the formats for Bangladesh as yet," said Aminul. "I will talk to him, and we will make a decision after speaking with him."I haven't been in contact with Shakib for quite some time. Not since taking on this responsibility (as BCB president).
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BCCI BCB Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Asia Cup 2025 Sri Lanka Cricket Board Asia Cup India National Cricket Team Bangladesh National Cricket Team
