One of the most talked-about themes over the past few months has been who will host the Asia Cup. But, even though it has been talked about a lot, no answer has been found. The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) made it clear that it would not fly to Pakistan because of political tensions between the two countries. As a result, the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) came up with a plan to organize the event using a hybrid model.
After a few weeks, the PCB came up with a hybrid plan for the event. Four preliminary rounds and two super-four games would be played in Pakistan, while India’s games and the final would be played at a neutral site. But after the hybrid plan was proposed, several news stories said that Jay Shah, chairman of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and secretary of the BCCI, was unhappy with it.
Several reports say that the Indian cricket governing body will not back the PCB’s hybrid model. Also, reports say that Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan have no trouble playing their games in Pakistan, but the BCCI’s stance on the subject keeps causing problems.
“Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan have already told the PCB that they don’t mind playing their games in Pakistan. India, on the other hand, doesn’t want to help with the hybrid plan. Now, the deadlock hasn’t been broken, and the final decision won’t be made until Jay Shah calls a meeting of the ACC’s executive board, an ACC board member told NDTV.
Also, the ACC board member was asked if the hybrid model could be voted on at the next meeting. They said, “There has to be a middle-of-the-road solution because you can’t vote on this hybrid model.” I mean, if only six countries are playing, what is the point of the other 19 countries not participating? How can they vote if they have nothing to lose?”
The cricket board leaders of Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka will be in India for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, which starts on May 29. This could break the deadlock in the next few days.