The Asia Cup 2023 will probably be held in the UAE rather than Pakistan. The Asian Cricket Council meeting, which took place on February 4 in Bahrain was held to get final outcome on this.
The Asia Cup’s venue was not decided at the conference, but it seems likely that Pakistan won’t host the 50-over competition before the 2023 World Cup.
After another ACC meeting, which is likely to be place in March, a decision regarding the Asia Cup hosts will be made.
The 50-over competition, Asia Cup 2023, which will take place prior to the World Cup in India, was originally to be held in Pakistan.
Ramiz Raja, the former head of the Pakistan Cricket Board, reacted angrily to the Indian cricket board’s, BCCI secretary Jay Shah’s announcement in October that India would not visit Pakistan. Jay Shah also serves as the chairman of the ACC.
Following their first official meeting on Saturday in Bahrain, BCCI secretary Jay Shah and PCB chairman Najam Sethi will decide on a different venue for the Asia Cup ODI event in March.
The United Arab Emirates, which has three venues — Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah — is widely believed to be the favourite to host the competition, although the decision has not yet been made.
ACC affiliates met today
The special meeting, which was held at the request of PCB chairman Sethi after the ACC under Shah’s leadership announced the continental body’s itinerary without naming Pakistan as the host, was attended by all heads of ACC member countries.
“The ACC affiliates met today and there were a lot of constructive discussions. But the shift of venue has been postponed till March. But be rest assured that with India not going to Pakistan, the tournament will have to be shifted.
A tournament without Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Shubman Gill will have the sponsors back out,” a senior BCCI official privy to the development told PTI.
Why is Pakistan unlikely to be the venue for Asia Cup?
According to an ACC insider, Sethi recently took control of the PCB, and if he had given up the hosting rights during the first meeting itself, it would have left a negative impression at home.
Pakistan is currently experiencing a severe economic crisis, and the country has been severely affected by inflation, with the Pakistani Rupee falling to 277 versus the US Dollar.
Even if ACC pays a grant, organising a prestigious event like Asia Cup could exhaust PCB’s financial resources.
Therefore, strategically, there is a good chance that all of the member countries will benefit in addition to the broadcast profits if the tournament is staged in the UAE.
Increase in annual budget allocation for Afghanistan Cricket
The Afghanistan Cricket Association will now receive 15% of the annual budget, up from 6%, according to another decision made by the ACC.
The ACC has promised to support the Afghanistan board in every manner possible in order to bring back women’s cricket in the nation. Under Taliban control, women are not allowed to participate in sports.
