A decision with regards to venue of Asia Cup 2023 is likely to be taken in the next ten days. The presidents of Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka Cricket Boards are in Ahmedabad to watch the IPL 2023 final on May 28, and a discussion on the sidelines of the title clash will help outline future course of action.
After the BCCI SGM on May 27, Jay Shah, who is the ACC President, said there will be an update on the tournament after the meeting with ACC members.
“The future of the Asia Cup 2023 will be decided once we have a meeting with the ACC members (Test playing nations) and the Associate nations,” said Jay Shah.
The ACC is likely to hold an emergent meeting in “next 7-10 days” and the views of other members will also be discussed there. No venue for the meeting has been decided yet and it could well be held virtually.
“Emergent ACC meeting likely in next 7-10 days. In person or virtual but a meeting is likely to be called where views of other members of the ACC on Asia Cup will also be shared and discussed,” added Shah.
PCB chief Najam Sethi has been repeatedly making statements in the media in a desperate attempt to at least keep some fixtures in Pakistan, who hold the hosting rights for the 2023 edition.
Sethi has been advocating a “hybrid model” where matches involving India can be played at a neutral venue while Pakistan and other teams play in Pakistan.
The model isn’t as straightforward as it sounds and involves a lot of logistics and financial planning. The broadcasters would need to arrange two set of crews and for teams it would involve a lot of travel.
“It’s not that difficult to understand the feasibility. It’s an ODI match. Will start at 1:30 pm and end around 9:30 pm in the night and then teams will have to travel to another country. ACC members will talk and decide on the feasibility of that,” said a senior official tracking developments.
PCB is getting desperate
The deadlock over the venue continues and the PCB is getting desperate as the tournament, in all likelihood, is slipping away from them and could well be entirely played in Sri Lanka. More threatening statements, like not travelling to India for 2023 World Cup, are likely to come from the neighbouring country and all efforts will be directed towards blowing the hosting issue up.
“These statements don’t matter. Let’s understand that they will have to put up a fight of sorts to retain some games in Pakistan. India are not going there, that is for sure. And even the hybrid model comes with a lot of challenges and hassle and is not being encouraged by other ACC members too. So if the entire tournament is shifted out of Pakistan to Sri Lanka in all likelihood, the PCB will have to show to its people back home that they tried and will try to blow this up,” said a source tracking developments from close quarters.
At the moment, the situation in Pakistan is not ideal and the political and civil unrest in the country is likely to influence the decision-making of other ACC members. A couple of weeks back, there were angry protests against the military after former PM Imran Khan was arrested in dramatic fashion.
India vs Pakistan is broadcaster’s delight
With no bilateral action between the arch-rivals due to the political situation, the ICC events and Asia Cup is the only time fans get to see them in action. The ICC event would see them once or max twice but Asia Cup, which is rated as one of the top five multi-team tournaments, is scheduled with maximum India-Pakistan action. In 2022, India played Pakistan twice and could have well played each other again had the Rohit Sharma-led team reached the final.
The fixture continues to remain a hot property for the broadcasters, even at neutral venues. India last toured Pakistan in 2008 for the Asia Cup and Pakistan travelled to India for the T20 World Cup in 2016. No broadcaster or big tournament can afford to not have an India-Pakistan contest and that is why a lot will be riding on the emergent meeting of the ACC after the IPL 2023 final.
“No one can afford to not have a India-Pakistan match in Asia Cup. It will not be an ideal situation for anyone – the sponsors, broadcasters, organisers, the boards, no one,” says an industry source.
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