This season of the Asia Cup is to be held in September and India has hosting rights. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is also in negotiations with its Afghanistan counterpart to stage a tri-series in August with hosts UAE in case the Asia Cup is cancelled or postponed.
This Asia Cup is to be staged in September and India will host the event, but Pakistan will not cross the border into the neighbouring country according to the hybrid model embraced before the Champions Trophy this year. Hence, there is a lack of clarity over the event, and hence the PCB has started negotiations with the Afghan board.
With the Asia Cup now unlikely to be staged in India as scheduled in September because of the tense relations between Pakistan and India, the PCB is negotiating another tri-series proposal,” said a well-informed PCB source.
“Hypothesis is that if the Asia Cup is shifted to the UAE then Pakistan will host a tri-series against Afghanistan and the UAE in Dubai in August in place of the Afghanistan tour of Pakistan,” he elaborated. He added the PCB has already spoken with the two boards to arrange for the tri-series.
“If the Asia Cup is cancelled or postponed then the PCB desires that the Afghanistan and UAE teams should play the tri-series in Pakistan in August,” the source revealed. PCB Chairman, Mohsin Naqvi is also the president of the Asian Cricket Council and the source revealed that the ACC would soon hold a meeting to decide the Asia Cup.
The Indian cricket board is still to announce whether it would like to stage the Asia Cup at home. So, that is yet to be seen when the ACC council gathers and makes a decision on the fate of the Asia Cup to be played in the T20 format,” he said.
