‘Yeh hai PCB ki aukaat’ – Fans react as Najam Sethi confirms that Asia Cup final will be held on neutral venue
The continental tournament will be held this year in 50-over format.
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Apr 10, 2023 11:43 am
Najam Sethi and Jay Shah (Source: Twitter)
Pakistan Cricket Board chief Najam Sethi said that the 2023 Asia Cup final will be held at a neutral venue on the caveat that India makes it there. The PCB have agreed to host the game at a neutral venue. The Asia Cup will be held in Pakistan this year. There will be lot of logistical hassles involved as all the India games will be held out of Pakistan.
These games will be held in a different venue. So, there will be extra travel involved and also more work for the broadcasters as they would have to get two separate crews. One crew in Pakistan and one crew wherever India ends up playing their games. Pakistan hosted Australia, England and New Zealand at home. This will be the first time in years that Pakistan will host a multilateral tournament like the Asia Cup.
The last edition of Asia Cup was held in UAE where Sri Lanka became champions
The other potential host venue, as reported by Espn Cricinfo, earlier, could be Oman, Sri Lanka, England or the UAE. The venue where India will play their games has not been zeroed in on yet. The continental tournament will be held this year in the ODI format as a buildup to the World Cup in India. The tournament was held in 2022 in the UAE. Sri Lanka emerged winners in the 20 over-competition before the 20-20 World Cup in Australia.
Jay Shah had, earlier, made a statement that India would not be travelling to Pakistan and that the tournament would take place at a neutral venue. This angered the top brass of the PCB, who said that if India will not travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup then Pakistan will not go to the World Cup. After the two boards were at loggerheads for some time, the PCB suggested that games involving India could be held at a neutral venue.
Pakistan and India have not hosted the Asia Cup, over the past few years. The tournament has been primarily held at Bangladesh or in the UAE. India and Pakistan last played a bilateral series against each other in 2012-13. Since then, they are seen at the Asia Cup and at World events.
Let us take a look at the reactions on Twitter with regard to the recent development:
