India won't travel to Pakistan for 2023 Asia Cup
Jay Shah, secretary of the BCCI and president of the Asian Cricket Council, claims that the tournament is likely to be moved outside of Pakistan.
As a result of India's decision not to travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup in 2023, the location of the competition has been questioned. On the day of the BCCI's annual general meeting in Mumbai, BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who is also the president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), suggested that the Asia Cup would have to be played at a different location the following year.
Shah told the media after the BCCI's Annual General Meeting, "The Asia Cup 2023 will be held at a neutral venue."As president of the ACC, I am saying this.They can't come to India, and we can't go to Pakistan.The Asia Cup has previously been held in a neutral location as well."When Shah spoke to the media, he was accompanied by the new BCCI office bearers, president Roger Binny, treasurer Ashish Shelar, and Rajiv Shukla, who had been re-elected as board vice-president.
The ACC has not yet met to discuss the issue, let alone make a formal decision. That has prompted concerns within the PCB regarding Shah's role and the reason he chose to speak at a BCCI AGM. A spokesperson for the PCB stated that while the board would not be commenting on the situation at this time, a strong response is not out of the question: For instance, there is already talk among board members about leaving the ACC. It is anticipated that the PCB will write the ACC about the comments.
The remarks of Shah may also have some bearing on ICC events, two of which are scheduled to take place in India and Pakistan in the coming years. After the Asia Cup, India is scheduled to host the 2023 ODI World Cup, and Pakistan is scheduled to host the 2025 Champions Trophy. It remains to be seen how that will affect those tournaments if Pakistan and India are unable to play each other. Pakistan had to get permission from their government to travel to India for the 2016 T20 World Cup, but they only got it at the last minute. The International Criminal Court is unlikely to comment at this time.
Pakistan's most recent visit to India was for the 2016 ICC event, while India's most recent trip to Pakistan was for the 2008 Asia Cup. Since Pakistan's 2012-13 white-ball-only tour of India, the two nations have not played any bilateral cricket due to strained political relations.
India and Pakistan last met in August-September at the 2022 Asia Cup in the UAE. On October 23, they will play each other in the T20 World Cup in Melbourne. It is likely that the atmosphere leading up to that game will now be a little bit more nervous. The comments have caused discontent within the PCB, not least because Shah made them after a BCCI AGM, which he presided over as board secretary and effectively skipped over the ACC as a body.
An official stated that such a decision cannot be made without being discussed at the ACC board level. Indeed, Pakistan's bid to host the Asia Cup was confirmed at a meeting in March of this year, when Shah was in charge of the ACC. However, there is sufficient discontent within the board to consider withdrawing as a member of the ACC, which was ironically established in the middle of the 1980s to ensure productive relations between Asian members.
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