Fate of 2023 Asia Cup to be decided at IPL 2023 final: BCCI secretary Jay Shah
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Jay Shah has confirmed that a final decision regarding the 2023 Asia Cup will be taken at the IPL 2023 final on Sunday, May 28. He confirmed that the summit clash will be attended by Asian Cricket Council (ACC) dignitaries to decide the fate of the continental tournament.
Speaking to PTI, Jay Shah said:
“As of now, the decision with regards to hosting of Asia Cup hasn’t been finalised. We are busy with IPL but the top dignitaries of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), Bangladesh and Afghanistan Cricket Board are coming to watch the IPL final. We will have a discussion and take a final decision in due course.”
For the unversed, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) own the hosting rights of the 2023 Asia Cup but BCCI has refused to send Team India to the neighboring country due to the ongoing political tension between the two nations for more than a decade.
The two countries only play each other in ICC tournaments. Rohit Sharma and Co. last locked horns with the Babar Azam-led Pakistan in 2022 T20 World Cup.
PCB chief Najam Sethi, meanwhile, has proposed a ‘Hybrid Model’ and they want Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan (barring India) to play one game each in Pakistan before traveling to a neutral venue for the remainder of the tournament. A final call by ACC is still awaited.
BCCI Secretary Jay Shah confirms Sri Lanka, Bangladesh & Afghanistan Cricket boards' president will attend final of this IPL 2023 at Ahmedabad and discussions with them for fate of Asia Cup 2023. https://t.co/B1NJxPeM9i
Indo-Pak games to be played in Sri Lanka during 2023 Asia Cup – Reports
As per PTI sources, India and Pakistan will play their 2023 Asia Cup games in Sri Lanka instead of Dubai. The development comes after PCB confirmed that they don’t mind playing India at any neutral venue subject to compensation.
An ACC source familiar with the development told PTI on conditions of anonymity:
“ACC head Jay Shah will summon an executive body meeting where a formal announcement will take place. The PCB doesn’t mind playing India at a neutral venue.
“While they would prefer Dubai because it would lead to more gate receipts, it is open to playing in another country (Sri Lanka) provided the ACC matches the gate receipts amount (0.5m USD) that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) received in 2022 from the Indo-Pak games in Dubai.”
Asia Cup Fiasco in fix yet again..
Timeline of the day so far.. (25th may)
12AM: Pak media broke news of Hybrid model being accepted.. official confirmations and details to follow.
12PM: Jay Shah finally broke silence on Asia Cup (confirming decision will be taken on IPL… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
The 2023 Asia Cup window is between September 1 and 17.