Earlier this month, Asian Cricket Council (ACC) announced that the Men's ODI Asia Cup 2023 will take place in September and India-Pakistan would be in the same group along with a Qualifying team.
However, there’s still uncertainty over the venue of Asia Cup 2023. Pakistan have the hosting rights but BCCI secretary Jay Shah last year said that India will not travel and the event would be shifted to a neutral venue.
In response, then PCB chairman Ramiz Raja had said that alteration to the Asia Cup might see them opt out of the 50-over World Cup in India later this year.
Now, a report published in ANI claims that PCB’s newly-appointed chairman Najam Sethi recently met officials of the Asian Cricket Council in UAE and he is keen to meet the body's president Jay Shah over Asia Cup 2023.
"Najam Sethi came here for the opening ceremony of the International League T20 (ILT20, a T20 league by Emirates Cricket Board). He met with ACC officials and expressed his wish to meet ACC president Jay Shah in February for a discussion over Asia Cup 2023," a source told ANI.
In October last year, PCB issued a statement, threatening to withdraw from the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 in India.
"The PCB has noted with surprise and disappointment of yesterday's comments made by the ACC President Mr. Jay Shah with regards to shifting of next year's Asia Cup to a neutral venue. The comments were made without any discussion or consultation with the Board of the Asian Cricket Council or the Pakistan Cricket Board (event host) and without any thoughts towards their long-term consequences and implications," PCB had said in a release.
“The overall impact of such statements have the potential to split the Asian and international cricketing communities and can impact Pakistan’s visit to India for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 and future ICC Events in India in the 2024-2031 cycle,” it added.
Meanwhile, BCCI president Roger Binny has cleared that touring Pakistan for Asia Cup 2023 is not the board's call and they will rely on the government's decision.
"That is not our call. We cannot say where our team has to go. We need to take clearance from the government if we leave the country, or other countries come here. We cannot take that decision on our own, we have to rely on government," Binny had said.
Cricket teams had stopped travelling to Pakistan in the wake of a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus back in Lahore in 2009. It was only in 2015 that international cricket resumed in the country. Since then, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa, West Indies, Australia, England and New Zealand have toured Pakistan for bilateral series.
(With ANI Inputs)
