According to sources, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selected two locations for the hybrid Asia Cup 2023. At the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, the Asia Cup’s opening round will feature four matches. The Dubai International Stadium will host the rest of the competition.
Compared to Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, the PCB is sure that it can sell more seats in Dubai.
Particularly, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has declined to send its side to Pakistan for the Asia Cup and is adamant that the competition takes place at a neutral venue.
However, the PCB has no interest in arranging the event outside of Pakistan because doing so would undermine its attempts to bring back international cricket to the nation. The PCB gave the hybrid model two possibilities to break the impasse. In the first option, Pakistan would host all other matches while a neutral venue would host India’s matches. In a different scenario, Pakistan would host four of the group stage matches in the first phase while a neutral site would host matches involving the Indian team in the second phase, which would be followed by matches from the next level and the final.
Najam Sethi, the chairman of the PCB Management Committee, suggested a rational approach to resolve the situation, which threatens both the country’s participation in this year’s ODI World Cup and the successful hosting of the Asia Cup.
On the occasion of the meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC), Sethi spoke to the media and said it is unlikely that the Pakistani team will go to India for the ODI World Cup.
“If India rejects to visit Pakistan to compete in the Asia Cup, there is a potential that the Pakistani authorities won’t permit the Men in Green to cross the border to participate in the World Cup. The ultimate loser in such a situation will be cricket, according to Sethi.
“There should be an agreement to solve the issues that jeopardize the successful holding of ICC and ACC events. The government will not permit us to travel to India to participate in World Cup matches if India refuses to travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup, he added.
