The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) on Thursday (June 15) announced the dates and venues for the Asia Cup 2023, agreeing to PCB’s demand of conducting the continental tournament with a hybrid model that will enable Pakistan to host four games while the rest of the matches will be played in Sri Lanka.
The multi-nation event was supposed to be solely hosted by Pakistan, but BCCI refused to travel to the neighbouring country citing lack of clearance from the government and security reasons.
Subsequently, PCB chairman Najam Sethi threatened to boycott the ODI World Cup in India later this year and also proposed a hybrid model to host the Asia Cup.
Since the ACC has accepted the hybrid model, PCB is likely to take a step back from its stand of not travelling to India for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.
Amid the recent development, former Pakistan wicketkeeper Rashid Latif has said that the Asia Cup schedule is a win-win situation for both BCCI and PCB.
Latif also suggested that ACC President Jay Shah, who is also the BCCI Secretary, needed recognition for his efforts while PCB wanted to save their face.
"This is a typical scenario; Jay Shah wanted to win; he needed recognition for his work, somewhere he wanted the medal for his under-the-belt tactics that he organized some event as he is the ACC President. Moreover, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was also in a critical situation, and they also needed a way to save face and find a solution to overcome their challenges," Latif was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
He further mentioned that the conflict between BCCI and PCB ended up benefitting Sri Lanka as nine matches of the Asia Cup 2023 will be held in the Island nation.
"Both India and Pakistan have been successful in this. The third beneficiary is Sri Lanka, which will host almost the tournament with nine matches. Afghanistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh will receive their respective participating fees, so it will be a very good event for everyone. Pakistan is happy, India is happy, and Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are also delighted," he added.
The Asia Cup 2023 is scheduled to be played from August 31 to September 17.
