Big Below For Cricket: India Will Not Travel To Pakistan For Asia Cup 2023
“The Asia Cup 2023 will be held at a neutral venue,” Shah told the media after a BCCI annual general meeting. “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
“I am saying this as ACC President. We [India] can’t go there [to Pakistan], they can’t come here. In the past also, Asia Cup has been played at a neutral venue.”
The ACC has not yet met to discuss the matter, let alone for a decision to be officially taken. That has raised questions within the PCB as to which capacity Shah was speaking in on the matter and why he chose to do so at a BCCI AGM. A PCB spokesperson said the board would not be commenting on the matter at this stage but a robust response is not out of the question: there is, for instance, already talk within the board of leaving the ACC.
India last travelled to Pakistan for a bilateral series in 2005-06 under the captaincy of current Team India coach Rahul Dravid. However, India did travel to Pakistan in 2008 to compete in the Asia Cup.
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The 2022 Asia Cup was held in the UAE last month after hosts Sri Lanka expressed their inability to host the event amid the economic crisis back home. India and Pakistan played twice in the tournament and are set to clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on October 23 in the T20 World Cup. It is the most predictable early-round fixture in ICC tournaments.