Pakistan Cricket chief Zaka Ashraf makes a huge statement on the future of 2023 Asia Cup
The 2023 edition of Asia Cup is seeing six teams taking part in the event. Group A has arch-rivals India and Pakistan along with debutants Nepal. Group B meanwhile has defending champions and co-hosts Sri Lanka. Joining Sri Lanka are three-time runners-up Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
Originally, Pakistan was supposed to host the entire tournament. The Indian cricket board though decided against touring their neighbours. After numerous rounds of discussions and threats, the tournament was set to be hosted in a hybrid model.
Pakistan got to host a few games, while Sri Lanka got a chunk of the tournament. The provision was also that India gets to play all its matches in Sri Lanka. There is a latest headache for the organizers and this time it is the inclement weather one is witnessing in Sri Lanka.
Zaka Ashraf comes up with a huge statement –
Indian Cricket Board chief Roger Binny and Rajeev Shukla, who is the vice-president, are currently in Pakistan. The duo are visiting Pakistan for two days and are currently in Lahore. Pakistan board chief Zaka Ashraf was quizzed about whether he had any word with Jay Shah about the change in venues. Shah is with the Indian Cricket Board in the capacity of the secretary.
The Pakistan cricket chief, Zaka Ashraf just came with a three-word response “Thinking about it”. This has now created a lot of buzz and there is genuine curiosity if Pakistan could host the rest of the tournament.
The change in venue has come about after rain washed out the India versus Pakistan game on Saturday. There was also a rain interruption during the Sri Lanka versus Bangladesh game last Thursday.
There was also a delay due to rain during the India versus Nepal game on Monday. All these delays have now cast major doubt on the future of the tournament in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lanka board though has come up with a few suggestions and proposed a small tweak.
As per the Sri Lanka board, there is a proposal to move the games to Dambulla or Hambantota. There is also a chance that Pallekele could continue as the host for the super-four phase as well as the finals.
