The stalemate between The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) about the hosting of Asia Cup 2023 continued as the ACC meeting which was called on the behest of PCB chief Najam Sethi, ended without any solution.
Pakistan are the host of the Asia Cup 2023 which will be played in ODI format, but the BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who is also the president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), has been firm in his stance that India will not tour Pakistan for the tournament.
This was announced in October last year after the BCCI AGM and as a result, then PCB chief Ramiz Raja countered by threatening to boycott the ODI World Cup 2023 which is to be played in India in October-November.
On Saturday, BCCI President Shah and PCB chairman Sethi held talks at the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting in Bahrain to discuss the matter. The meeting ended with a decision to postpone the hosting venue finalization to March.
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However, multiple reports have suggested that the tournament will not be played in Pakistan, with it being moved to UAE. Something similar happened in 2018 as well, when India was to host the Asia Cup, but Pakistan refused to travel to India and the tournament was moved to UAE.
It has also been reported that the discussion between Najam Sethi and Jay Shah got heated and the PCB chairman warned the BCCI that their decision could have serious consequences.
According to multiple reports in Pakistan and international media outlets including Cricket Pakistan, The News, ESPNCricinfo, and GEO TV, Sethi has told Jay Shah that if the Indian team doesn’t come to Pakistan for the Asia Cup tournament, then the Men in Green will not consider taking part in the World Cup to be held in India in October-November.
"The PCB took particular exception to that and ESPNCricinfo understands that on Saturday their chief Najam Sethi told Shah that if India don't play in Pakistan, Pakistan will consider not playing in India for the 2023 World Cup," ESPNCricinfo report read.
"Sethi's stance took Jay Shah by surprise as he was not expecting this," another report read.
A final decision on the venue is expected to be taken in March when the ICC and ACC Executive Board meetings take place one after the other.
(NDTV inputs)
