Both India and Pakistan to feature in Asia Cup, says Sourav Ganguly

Ehsan Mani and Sourav Ganguly

India vs Pakistan

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly announced on Friday that the Asia Cup will be held in Dubai and both India and Pakistan will take part in the tournament.

However, the hosts of the tournament, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has made it clear that only the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has the authority to decide the venue of the tournament, which will be played in the T20 format this year in light of the World T20 in Australia in October.

PCB officials have said that while the Pakistan board remains the event’s host, only the ACC can take a call on the matter. The ACC will make their final decision keeping in mind the interest of all the countries involved.

A PCB official said, “The ACC is the event authority and therefore the only competent body to shift the venue of the ACC T20 Cup scheduled in September. The ACC is meeting in Dubai on March 3 under the chairmanship of Nazmul Hassan in which it will discuss and decide on the venue, keeping in mind the interests of the associate members.

Sourav Ganguly

When speaking to the media on Friday, Ganguly had said, “Asia Cup will be held in Dubai and both India and Pakistan will play.”

A BCCI official said that it is just a matter of picking a neutral venue, as the Indian team will not be allowed to travel to Pakistan for the T20 tournament.

The question is not about the PCB hosting the tournament. It is about the venue and as things stand now, it is quite clear that we would need a neutral venue. There is no way that an Indian team can visit Pakistan to even participate in a multi-nation event like the Asia Cup. If the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is okay with an Asia Cup minus India, then it is a different ball game. But if India is to participate, the venue cannot be Pakistan.

The last Asia Cup in 2018 was held in the UAE, which was won by India. It was a 50-over tournament.