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Asia Cup 2023 to be contested in a hybrid format, India to play matches in Sri Lanka

The standoff over the hosting of the Asia Cup 2023 — a six-nation Asian competition — ended on Thursday when the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) approved Pakistan’s proposal and declared that the matches will be hosted in Pakistan and Sri Lanka under a hybrid model. Official Asia Cup host Pakistan suggested the hybrid-model option after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) declined to go the adjacent nation to play the event last year.

Due to strained political relations, India and Pakistan have not met in any version of the game on either side’s turf since 2012, and only face each other in international events on neutral grounds. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) proposed that Asia Cup matches featuring India be played in Sri Lanka, a neutral location, using the hybrid concept.

Pakistan had also said that if they were forced to hold the whole Asia Cup in another country, they would not go to the World Cup in India in October and November. Jay Shah, the president of the ACC and secretary of the BCCI, said last month that the fate of this year’s Asia Cup would be decided during the Indian Premier League, which was going on at the time. He said that cricket leaders from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan would go to the IPL final in Ahmedabad, India, and talk about the matter.

ACC said in a statement: ” We are delighted to announce that the Asia Cup 2023 will be held from 31st August to 17th September 2023 and will see the elite teams from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Nepal, compete in a total of 13 exciting ODI matches.
The tournament will be hosted in a hybrid model with four matches being held in Pakistan, and the remaining nine matches being played in Sri Lanka. The 2023 Edition will feature two groups, with two teams from each group qualifying for the Super Four stage. The top two teams from the Super Four stage will then face off in the final. We look forward to welcoming fans from around the world to witness this celebration of cricket at its finest.”

Chair of the PCB Management Committee Najam Sethi thanked the Asian Cricket Council for accepting his mixed plan for the ACC Asia Cup 2023, which will now take place from August 31 to September 17. This will be the first time since 2008 that cricket games in Pakistan will be part of an event with teams from more than one country. Pakistan ran the six-team ACC Asia Cup 50-over event without a hitch 15 years ago.

Najam Sethi also explained on the PCB website: “I want to assure the ACC, its commercial partners, participating countries, and the cricket fans in Pakistan and Sri Lanka that the PCB, as event hosts, will not leave any stone unturned in the successful delivery of the event that is so very critical to the sides featuring in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 in October/November in India. I appreciate the efforts of ACC President Jay Shah to strengthen the council so that we can collectively continue to protect each other’s interests and also provide opportunities and platforms to emerging Asian nations.”

Farzeen K

Farzeen K

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