ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: The Asian Cricket Council’s decision to change the Asia Cup 2023 venues has led the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to threaten the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) once again with withdrawal from the future tournament.
The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) office bearers met yesterday, and it was decided that the Asia Cup 2023, which will be played in the 50-over format this year, will have a neutral venue announced. In March, the new location for the Asia Cup 2023, which will probably be in the UAE, will be decided.
According to sources with close links to the PCB, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is not happy with the ACC’s decision to move the tournament.
According to the source, “PCB is not happy with this notion that the Asia Cup might be moved to some neutral destination; the name of the UAE is at the top of the list and might receive the hosting; if it occurs, then Pakistan would not come to India for the ICC World Cup 2023.”
The UAE hosted the last Asia Cup, which was played in the T20 format in 2022, and there is a very good likelihood that it will do so once more. After recently hosting a few franchise-based cricket events, Qatar has also expressed its desire to host the continental competition.
The ACC head, Jay Shah, had stated that due to security concerns and ongoing political tensions between India and Pakistan, the Indian men would not be traveling to Pakistan for the next Asia Cup in 2023.
The new location for the Asia Cup 2023 would be revealed following the second round of the Executive board meeting of the ACC members in March, according to Shah, who is also the secretary of the BCCI.
“Today’s ACC affiliate conference included several fruitful conversations. However, the change of location has been postponed till March. However, rest confident that the event will need to be moved because India won’t be visiting Pakistan. The sponsors will pull out of the event if Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Shubman Gill are missing, a BCCI source informed the news outlet PTI after the ACC executives’ meeting in Bahrain.
It’s essential to understand that the PCB has pressured the BCCI before, threatening to boycott the India-hosted ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 if they are not allowed to host the Asia Cup 2023. Former PCB chairman Ramiz Raja made it clear during his reign that his side wouldn’t travel to India if they weren’t given the chance to host the Asian tournament in 2023.
