The drama surrounding the 2023 Asia Cup is expected to reach its conclusion soon with Pakistan reportedly set to host a majority of the matches in the continental competition that returns to the 50-over format this year.
The news is a welcome one for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), who have been fighting to host a multi-nation tournament on home soil for quite some time now after gradually bringing cricket back in the country through bilateral tours. However, some of the matches are expected to take place outside the country with India sticking to its stance of playing at a neutral venue.
According to a ESPNCricinfo report, UAE, Oman, Sri Lanka and England are some of the nations being considered as an alternative for hosting India matches.
Read | India, Pakistan in same group for Asia Cup 2023
The tournament, which will take place in September, returns to the ODI format after switching to T20I last year, given that the ODI World Cup will take place right after in October and November in India.
Sri Lanka will enter the tournament as the defending champions, having beaten Pakistan in last year’s final in Dubai to win their first major trophy in eight years.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who also happens to be the president of the Asian Cricket Council that organises the Asia Cup, had last year stated that the entire tournament would be held at a neutral venue.
“We’ll have Asia Cup 2023 at a neutral venue. It’s the government which decides over the permission of our team visiting Pakistan so we won’t comment on that but for the 2023 Asia Cup, it is decided that the tournament will be held at a neutral venue,” he hadsaid at the time.
Read: “India is flexing its muscles,” says Afridi on Asia Cup 2023 controversy
The last time the Men in Blue travelled to Pakistan incidentally was also for the Asia Cup in 2008 in which they lost the final against Sri Lanka.
Cricketing relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbours soured after the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai in 2008, with no bilateral series taking place between the arch-rivals save a three-match ODI series in India in 2012/13.
Pakistan, additionally, became a no-go area after the attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in March 2009, following which a majority of the teams refused to visit the country for more than a decade.
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