Asia Cup 2023

Ravi Shastri breaks silence as to why the Asia Cup 2023 could not be staged in Dubai

The biggest talking point of the Asia Cup has not been the cricket on their field. Tt has been the off-field politics and drama along with one more element which is rain. The rain has thwarted most of the fixtures in the Sri Lanka leg of the Asia Cup which will end up with hosting nine matches. In contrast, the Pakistan leg of the Asia Cup which has hosted four games and all of them have yielded results. It has not been good viewing from the spectator’s point of view and also it has been very frustrating from the point of view of the players.

There has again been a lot of discussion as to whether the Asia Cup could have been hosted in Dubai. To which Ravi Shastri shut the matter and put it to bed once in for all. The Former India coach said that it would have been excruciating for the players to play under the Dubai heat and more so in ODI games. A total of 100 overs in the hot weather would have sapped a lot of energy from the players. Notably the Asia Cup in 2022 was hosted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). But the difference was the games were 20 over fixtures.

There is rain everywhere – Ravi Shastri

“If you actually see at this moment in time, there is rain everywhere. You know, there was talk about that it could have been played in Dubai. Dubai is so hot… for a 50-over game, these players would have been finished. It’s unforeseen circumstances, it’s a calamity that can happen naturally. You look at Bangladesh, northern India, Mumbai, coastline of India… there is rain everywhere,” Shastri said on Star Sports. The temperatures in Dubai have been red hot and it is between 40 to 47 degrees at the moment.

“I know it’s frustrating for the players and the fans back home in India, Pakistan and worldwide as well but this thing you cannot control. A lot of people are criticising a lot of people regarding the Asia Cup but this decision has been made. There is not point criticising now, nothing can happen. A lot of people say it should have been played in Pakistan. We can discuss this topic but it’s not our job”. Wasim Akram said throwing weight behind Shastri’s views.