The window for the Asia Cup this year is between September 1-17.
The hosting rights for this year's event are with Pakistan, but the BCCI threw a wrench in the works by saying last October that the Indian squad would not travel to Pakistan.
Since then, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) head Najam Sethi has issued threat after threat. The most recent one is Pakistan team boycotting the World Cup in India if India does not come to play in Pakistan.
As a bargain, Sethi has proposed a hybrid concept in which four matches are played in Pakistan and the remaining matches are played in either the UAE or Sri Lanka.
According to ACC insiders, Sethi's proposed hybrid format in which Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Afghanistan play four preliminary matches in Pakistan while India plays all of their games at neutral venue appears to be a viable alternative, despite the fact that the ACC has made no formal announcement.
The two India-Pakistan games will also be held in Sri Lanka although the PCB wants them in Dubai.
“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 (read Sri Lanka) provided the ACC matches the gate receipts amount (USD 0.5 million) that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) received in 2022 from the Indo-Pak games in Dubai,” an ACC source told PTI.
On the other hand, Jay Shah has reportedly said that a final decision on the same will be taken after the IPL 2023 final. The crunch encounter involving the Chennai Super Kings will be attended by a number of prominent Asian Cricket Council (ACC) dignitaries.
“As of now, the decision with regards to hosting of Asia Cup hasn’t yet 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,” Jay Shah told PTI.
The window for the Asia Cup this year is between September 1-17.