Amid the ongoing Asia Cup 2023 controversy, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has taken a clear stand on the issue, saying that it will back any decision taken by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).
Notably, the BCCI is adamant on its decision of not sending its team to Pakistan for this year’s Asia Cup and wants that the event is held at a neutral venue.
On the other hand, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been trying its best to stahe the event in its own backyard which is being done for its efforts to bring international cricket back to the cash-strapped nation.
However after the BCCI’s refusal, the PCB had presented a hybrid model but the Indian Cricket Board did not accepted it. As per the PCB’s hybrid model, four matches of the group stage would have been held in Pakistan while the remainder of the tournament would have been organised at a neutral venue.
On the other hand, the BCB had earlier expressed its unwillingness over the United Arab Emirates (UAE) being one of the neutral venues due to the extreme heat. And now, it has decided to support the ACC on the issue.
“We are interested to play in the Asia Cup. Whatever model the tournament is held in, we are interested. If the ACC decides that the tournament will be played in Dubai and the other members agree, we will have to play there,” BCB’s cricket operations chairman Jalal Yunus told mediapersons on Monday.
“There is discomfort since we are focused on the World Cup. We are thinking of preparations and that’s why we didn’t want to play in Dubai. We are waiting on ACC’s decision,” he added.
Earlier, the chairman of the PCB Management Committee, Najam Sethi, called for a rational approach to solve the issue which threatens the successful hosting of the continental tournamameng and the country’s participation in the 2024 ODI World Cup, which will be held in India later this year.
Talking to the media on the occasion of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) meeting, Sethi said the Pakistan team’s chances of travelling to India for the ODI World Cup are bery slim.
“In case of India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan to compete in the Asia Cup, chances are there that the Pakistan government would not allow the Men in Green to cross the borders for their World Cup participation. In that case, cricket will be the ultimate sufferer,” Sethi said.
“There should be a middle way to solve problems that surely threaten the smooth hosting of ICC and ACC events. In case of India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup, the government will not allow us to travel to India to figure in the World Cup matches,” he added.