LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board has proposed a middle path to ensure India’s participation in the Asia Cup 2023 tournament to be played in Pakistan this year.
According to reports, PCB chief Najam Sethi proposed that India could play their matches at a neutral venue while the rest will be in Pakistan. According to reports, the formula was presented during last week’s Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting in Dubai.
However, Najam Sethi also reiterated his previous stance that if the proposal was unacceptable to the ACC and the event was relocated, then Pakistan would pull out of the tournament.
President of ACC Jay Shah, also secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), was present at the meeting, while the IPL chairman, Arun Dhumal, represented India. However, no decision has been taken yet regarding the neutral venues for the India games.
The BCCI had announced that the Indian cricket team would not travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup 2023 because the central government would not give security clearance.
ACC to share response with PCB next week
Following the announcement, former PCB chief Ramiz Raja warned that Pakistan would not travel for the ODI World Cup to be hosted by India later this year if India avoided participation in the Asia Cup.
Pakistan and India have been grouped together for the Asia Cup and could play each other thrice during the tournament.
The Asian Cricket Council is expected to share its response with PCB in the coming weeks. It will discuss the proposal with Afghanistan and Sri Lanka as there would be financial and logistics complications too.
