BCCI secy Shah in Bahrain to attend ACC meet to decide on Pakistan’s Asia Cup hosting rights

PTI, Feb 4, 2023, 10:06 AM IST

Indian cricket board secretary Jay Shah has flown to Bahrain where an emergent meeting of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has been called at PCB chairman Najam Sethi’s behest to decide the fate of Pakistan’s Asia Cup hosting rights.

If sources in the BCCI are to be believed, there is little to no chance of the Asia Cup being held in Pakistan in September.

If at all, the tournament will either be shifted to UAE with PCB retaining the hosting rights or Sri Lanka could be the other option.

“Jay is in Bahrain for the ACC meeting. The BCCI’s stand will not change. We will not be travelling to Pakistan as we haven’t got any go-ahead from the government,” a BCCI source stated.

It is also understood that recent bomb blasts in Peshawar has again raised security concerns about holding cricket tournaments in Pakistan.

In December last year, ACC chairman Shah had released the itinerary of the continental body and the venue of Asia Cup wasn’t mentioned.

This led to Sethi accusing Shah of taking a “unilateral decision”, an allegation that ACC officially refuted stating that repeated emails to PCB seeking recommendations on the itinerary went unanswered.

In October last year, Shah, who is also the supremo of BCCI, had officially told the media that India will not travel to Pakistan.

The erstwhile PCB chief Ramiz Raja had back then threatened that Pakistan will not travel to India for this year’s 50-over World Cup.