'Urgent' ACC meeting to decide fate of Asia Cup: report

A meeting has been called in Bahrain on request of PCB's Najam Sethi

By Web Desk
February 03, 2023
Pakistan and India are placed in the same group of the 2023 edition of the Asia Cup — AFP

A meeting of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has been called in Bahrain on February 5 at the request of the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) management committee, Najam Sethi, to decide the fate of the Asia Cup 2023.

The ODI Asia Cup is scheduled to take place in Pakistan in September ahead of the ODI World Cup in India.

According to ANI, Sethi called for an "urgent meeting with the ACC chief and members".

"The meeting will be in Bahrain and the main agenda of the meeting is to decide the fate of the Asia Cup, whether it will be held in Pakistan or not. Most likely, it will be held in another country rather than Pakistan," the report added.

The location of the Asia Cup was not included in the ACC chairman Shah's announcement of the continental body's schedule in December of last year.

As a result, Sethi accused ACC president Jay Shah of making a "unilateral decision," without involving other boards.

It should be mentioned here that Shah had told the media in October of last year that India will not visit Pakistan for the Asia Cup and said the Asian event would be shifted to a neutral venue.

In response, Ramiz Raja, the former head of the PCB, had vowed that Pakistan would not travel to India for the 50-over World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in India in October-November later this year.

Last year, the T20 Asia Cup 2022 was hosted in the UAE by Sri Lanka Cricket after political turmoil in the country. It could again host the event if the tournament is moved out of Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Qatar has also shown interest in hosting the tournament as a neutral venue.

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