‘Bhai inko hee boycott kardo sab ke sab’ – Fans react as Pakistan set to boycott Test matches vs Sri Lanka if they oppose the hybrid model for Asia Cup 2023

Suppose Sri Lanka Cricket rejects the Pakistan Cricket Board’s hybrid model for conducting the Asia Cup 2023. In that case, Pakistan will abstain from the two Test matches against Sri Lanka in July, according to Samaa News. Pakistan had already threatened to boycott the ODI World Cup 2023 if they lost the Asia Cup 2023 hosting rights.

The deteriorating political ties between India and Pakistan over the past ten years have made bilateral cricket a casualty. The two neighbours now only face each other in multi-team tournaments held in neutral locations. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has offered to allow India to play their matches in the United Arab Emirates in what has been labelled a “hybrid model” as they have decided against visiting Pakistan for the Asia Cup in September due to safety concerns.

Asian Cricket Council may prefer shifting the entire competition over the hybrid model

“They want all the matches in a neutral venue,” he said in a Zoom interview. “Indian Cricket Board should take a good, rational decision so that we don’t have any problems going forward. India should not be looking at a situation where we end up boycotting the Asia Cup, and also the World Cup, and then India ends up boycotting the Champions Trophy. That will be a huge mess,” he added.

The Asian Cricket Council may try to transfer the entire competition out of Pakistan, according to local media conjecture. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have also opposed competing in the UAE, citing the heat and logistical problems. Sethi deemed such “unacceptable” and reiterated Pakistan’s threat to boycott the World Cup in the event of such behaviour.

“That’s a very real possibility, of course. We also have security concerns for our team in India. So let Pakistan play its matches in Dhaka or Mirpur, or UAE or in Sri Lanka. This is the solution going forward until such time that India agrees to play Pakistan, in Pakistan and outside Pakistan, bilaterally. The apex council should step in, but my sense is India would not like the ICC to step in, especially during the Asia Cup,” Sethi opined.

Here’s how fans reacted: