Kolkata: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been firm on not visiting Pakistan — be it the World Cup or the Asia Cup — for various reasons. The Asia Cup, which is scheduled to be held in Pakistan in September is still in limbo. With India refusing to travel to Pakistan, the arch-rivals have already threatened to pull out of the ICC World Cup 2023 slated to be held in India later this year.
India have already made it clear that the team won't travel to Pakistan under any circumstances. To which, Pakistan responded in a most aggressive manner threatening to pull out of the ICC World Cup (50-over format) to be staged in India in October-November.
The Asian Cricket Council (ACC), headed by BCCI secretary Jay Shah, hasn't yet responded to Pakistan's veiled threat that could disturb the commercial aspect of the game. The BCCI seems unfazed regarding the matter. "No decision has been taken on the Asia Cup yet," a source in the know of the development said.
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However, there are a few options that are being contemplated in case of a stalemate and eventually, one of those is bound to be reality in the near future. First, the cancellation of the Asia Cup, which is treated as the preparatory tournament for the upcoming World Cup. But this is the last option the board would like to explore as this means loss of revenue and the disturbance to the cricket governing body — International Cricket Council's (ICC) — Future Tour Programme.
"It's unlikely that the tournament will be called off as both boards would bear a huge monetary loss. Also, Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) current situation won't allow them to do so," the BCCI source pointed out. The second is to hold the Asia Cup in 'hybrid' mode. This means Pakistan will play their matches at home while India will play theirs on a neutral venue — most likely to be Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where the ICC is headquartered.
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"This hybrid mode is the most likely option as of now. This will help protect the interests of both the countries as well as the ACC. In all probability, both parties would ultimately agree to this," the source told ETV Bharat on the condition of anonymity.
However, in the hybrid model, there is one glitch that needs to be ironed out. If India are pitted against Pakistan in any stage of the tournament — most likely to be the final — where would the match be played? This is where the discussion is reaching a roadblock and that needs to be sorted at the earliest. Meanwhile, the idea of going on confrontation with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and holding a separate 5-nation ODI tournament during the Asia Cup window, excluding Pakistan, seems to have been ruled out as of now.
