There is no end to Asia Cup 2023 saga. Asia Cup Schedule is on hold again as a disgruntled new Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Zaka Ashraf meets BCCI Secretary Jay Shah to discuss conditions. The new PCB chief and the sports ministry are unhappy with sharing Asia Cup hosting rights with Sri Lanka. As things stand, PCB wants to keep the World Cup visit hostage to get complete hosting rights of the Asia Cup.
The schedule was supposed to be announced this week. But now that PCB is meeting BCCI counterparts, the fate of the schedule will be clear after that. Pakistan’s minister in charge for sports Ehsan Mazari refused the hybrid model. It was ex-PCB chairman Najam Sethi who proposed to the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in May.
“Pakistan is the host, it has the right to hold all the matches in Pakistan. That is what the cricket lovers want, I don’t want a hybrid model. My personal opinion, since PCB comes under my ministry, is that if India demands to play their Asia Cup games at a neutral venue, we would also demand the same for our World Cup games in India,” Pakistan’s minister in charge for sports, Ehsaan Mazari told Indian Express.
Also Read: BCCI vs PCB face-off at ICC Meeting in Durban, discussion on Asia Cup, World Cup
To note, it was BCCI who wanted the entire Asia Cup to be out of Pakistan. However, after repeated discussions with Najam Sethi, ACC chief Jay Shah, who is also the BCCI secretary, agreed to have it partially in Pakistan.
Under the hybrid model, Pakistan would host the first four games against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Afghanistan. Then, all the teams will fly to Sri Lanka. The island nation will host the India vs Pakistan games besides all India games and the final. The tournament is supposed to start on August 31 with the final on September 17.
Last week, a senior BCCI official confirmed to InsideSport that the tentative schedule was shared with the member associations. But with BCCI vs PCB going into the ICC again, there is no exact date when the schedule will be out.
However, ACC has already rejected any change in plans in the hybrid model.
“There is no question of changing the hybrid plan. Don’t forget it was PCB who requested the hybrid model. They may change stance with every new chairman but it does not work on the whims of one person. There is logistics, broadcasters, among other things that are involved,” a senior BCCI official told InsideSport last week.
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