Asia Cup hosting rights will be discussed during IPL final: Jay Shah

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah said today that they will start finalising the hosting rights of the 2023 Asia Cup during the Indian Premier League (IPL) final on May 28 in Ahmedabad.

"As of now, the decision with regards to hosting of Asia Cup hasn't yet been finalised. We are busy with IPL but the top dignitaries of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), Bangladesh and Afghanistan Cricket Board are coming to watch the IPL final. We will have a discussion and take a final decision in due course," Shah told PTI.

"ACC head Jay Shah will summon an executive body meeting where a formal announcement will take place. The PCB doesn't mind playing India at a neutral venue. While they would prefer Dubai because it would lead to more gate receipts, it is open to playing in another country (read Sri Lanka) provided the ACC matches the gate receipts amount (USD 0.5 million) that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) received in 2022 from the Indo-Pak games in Dubai," an ACC source privy to the development told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

There is a "very real possibility" that Pakistan will boycott this year's World Cup in India if they lose hosting rights to the Asia Cup, the chairman of the country's cricket board Najam Sethi told Reuters recently.

Bilateral cricket has been a casualty of the soured political relations between India and Pakistan over the last decade and the neighbouring countries now play each other only in multi-team events in neutral venues.

India, citing safety concerns, have ruled out travelling to Pakistan for the Asia Cup in September and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has offered to let them play their matches in the United Arab Emirates in what has been dubbed a "hybrid model".

While the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has yet to deliver a formal response to the offer, Sethi said India wanted the entire tournament moved out of Pakistan.