The Asia Cup 2023 has now come under the danger of either being played without Pakistan after the PCB reportedly threatened to pull out from the continental tournament if the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) moved the tournament out of Pakistan.
The ACC and the major Asian cricketing boards are yet unable to come to an agreement about the venue of the Asia Cup 2023.
On Wednesday, May 10, it was learned that the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) have said that they do not want to play matches in the UAE and opposed the hybrid-model that had been proposed by the PCB and the ACC.
Pakistan are scheduled to host the Asia Cup 2023 in September
Since the BCCI has confirmed that Team India will not be travelling to Pakistan for the Asia Cup 2023, the PCB introduced a hybrid model to conduct the tournament. The PCB suggested that all other matches except India’s matches will be played in Pakistan while Rohit Sharma‘s team will play their games in the UAE, and if India reach the final, the final will be played in the UAE.
It was reported that the ACC and the BCCI were satisfied with this model but now it has emerged that the SLC and the BCB have complained, saying that due to the heat in September in the UAE, they will not allow their players to play in the UAE.
While the ACC pondered over moving the Asia Cup 2023 to a neutral venue – with Sri Lanka being the frontrunner – and Pakistan to continue having the hosting rights, the PCB has said in no uncertain terms that they will pull out from the tournament if the competition is moved out of Pakistan.
Asia Cup 2023 schedule: When will Asia Cup 2023 start?
The Asia Cup 2023 is scheduled to be played in September in Pakistan and India’s matches in the UAE, a month before the World Cup 2023 in India.
Asia Cup 2023 groups:
6 teams will be competing in the Asia Cup 2023 in two rounds before the final. India, Pakistan and Nepal are in one group while the other group comprises Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. Top 2 teams from each group will proceed to the next round, Super 4, where each team will play the other once and the top 2 in Super 4 will meet in the final.
This format has been used in the last two Asia Cups. In this format, there is a potential chance of India and Pakistan playing each other thrice, including the final.
Sri Lanka are the defending Asia Cup champions having defeated Pakistan in the final last year.
