Cricket's Asia Cup in doubt after India, Sri Lanka refuse to attend ACC meeting in Dhaka

Mumbai, July 10 (IANS) The Asia Cup cricket tournament plunged into further doubt and chaos after India and Sri Lanka refused to attend a meeting of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in Dhaka on July 24 over political unrest in the host country, according to a news report. India are scheduled to host the Asia Cup in September 2025.

India have already deferred a tour to Bangladesh from August this year to September next year, and although the BCCI has termed international commitment as the reason, political tension between New Delhi and Dhaka is at the forefront.

A senior official from Pakistan associated with the ACC confirmed to Telecom Asia Sport (www.telecomasia.net) that the meeting will go on as planned.

“We have given a 15-day period so that all the member countries can make their arrangements. If any member doesn’t want to come to Dhaka, there are arrangements for online attendance, but the meeting will be held in Dhaka,” the official told www.telecomasia.net.

The ACC has said that both Pakistan and Bangladesh are playing a T20I tri-series in Dhaka from July 20-24, so it would be appropriate that the ACC meeting is also held there. More so, Bangladesh has not hosted an ACC meeting for quite some time.

India are scheduled to host the Asia Cup from September 5, but they are likely to ask the ACC to relocate the event to a neutral venue, as under an agreement, Pakistan will not tour India, the report said.

The agreement was reached earlier this year when India refused to tour Pakistan for the Champions Trophy after their government refused to permit them to travel across the border. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) agreed to relocate India’s matches to Dubai on the condition that they would also not send their team to India for any multinational event until 2027.

The ACC has written a letter to the BCCI asking them whether they want to host the Continental event or not. They are still waiting for the reply, ACC sources told www.telecomasia.net.

Over the years, the Asia Cup has been marred by political tensions between Pakistan and India. The 1986 edition – second after the event was started two years earlier – saw India boycott it over strained relations with Sri Lanka. Pakistan did not attend the event in 1990 hosted by India.

The last event in 2023 was conducted in a hybrid model, with India playing their matches in Sri Lanka while the remaining matches were held in Pakistan.

--IANS

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