The tussle over the Asia Cup 2023 is over with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) accepting the hybrid model proposed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). And now, Babar Azam’s Men in Green are expected to travel to India for the 50-over World Cup later this year. However, it has been learned that the Pakistan team is still quite reluctant about playing their matches in the marquee ICC event at certain venues.
According to Press Trust of India, the Pakistan team seems to be ‘uncomfortable’ playing against Afghanistan in Chennai and Australia in Bengaluru.
>As per the guidelines, the ICC asked its members boards, including PCB, for suggestions on the proposed itinerary. It has been learned that PCB’s data, analytics and team strategy experts have been given the task of approving the venues where the ICC and BCCI have tentatively scheduled Pakistan’s matches for the 50-over mega event.
“The PCB sent the tentative itinerary for the team to the selectors/experts who apparently are not comfortable with some of the Pakistan team’s scheduled matches and venues like they have reservations on Pakistan playing Afghanistan in Chennai and Australia at Bengaluru,” the PTI quoted a ‘reliable source’ from the PCB as saying.
The source said the selectors, who are also part of the team management, have advised the board not to accept Chennai as the venue for the match against Afghanistan as it was historically and statistically a venue which favoured spinners.
“The suggestion is to ask the ICC/BCCI to reschedule Pakistan’s matches and play Afghanistan in Bengaluru and Australia in Chennai to the team’s strength,” the source claimed.
Playing Afghanistan in spin-friendly Chennai would mean facing the likes of Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad, who did well for Gujarat Titans in the 2023 Indian Premier League. Whereas the conditions in Bengaluru are usually batting friendly and it is hard to understand why Pakistan would have reservations about playing Australia at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The agency report further mentioned that the ICC asking members for suggestions on the itinerary is part of the protocol and there has to be a strong reason for the venues to be changed.
“A member board can push for a venue change due to safety reasons as Pakistan did in 2016 when they travelled to India for the T20 World Cup. If you start expressing reservations over a venue as per your team’s strengths and weaknesses on the field, then it becomes very tough to finalise the schedule.
“So unless there is a strong enough reason, no changes are made as far as the venues are concerned,” the PTI quoted a source from the BCCI as saying.
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