The Asia Cup 2020 is due to be played in Pakistan.
June 2020 deadline has been set by host Pakistan Cricket Board for the BCCI to confirm India's participation in the Asia Cup scheduled for September next year. The PCB is desperate to ensure the tournament is played in Pakistan and not at a neutral venue like UAE. However, the security issues in the country remain a major hurdle towards that path.
The Asia Cup was last played in Pakistan in 2008, just prior to the Lahore Terrorist attack the following year on a Sri Lankan team bus.
"We need to see if India agrees to come to Pakistan for the Asia Cup," PCB CEO Wasim Khan was quoted saying by PTI. "There is still some time till next year’s September but by June, we have to know where we are going with this and if it can’t be hosted here because of a lack of involvement of India."
The final decision to shift the event can only be taken by the Asian Cricket Council.
"But that is a decision for the Asian Cricket Council and ICC to make. We are ready to have India in the Asia Cup," added Khan, who understands how difficult it will be to make agree his Indian counterparts for a cricket tour to Pakistan in the currently damaged bilateral ties.
"Board to board level, we share a good relation with India but they have a lot of government interference and we can’t keep on running after them to play a bilateral series."
"If they want to play they will have to tell us and give us a firm commitment. We have no issues playing at a neutral venue," he concluded.
(Inputs from PTI)