Jay Shah Gives an Update on Asia Cup Venue Decision

The decision regarding the hosting of Asia Cup 2023 will finally be taken after the IPL finals. Last year, Jay Shah gave a statement mentioning that the men in blue will not travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup. This triggered the Pakistan Cricket Board and since then there have been several discussions on what can be a middle ground on hosting the tournament. Earlier this year, the PCB proposed a hybrid model wherein India will play games on neutral venues and other games will be in Pakistan.

India early rejected the hybrid mode and received backing from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh too. The SLC and BCB agreed with India to not visit Pakistan for the Asia Cup. After this discussion, Sri Lanka came forward as the venue for the Asia Cup. However, now Jay Shah has mentioned that the final call will now come after the finals of the Indian Premier League. He declared that after the IPL final, the heads of the various organizations will convene in Ahmedabad to talk about the next phase of the Asia Cup.

Jay Shah to finalize Asia Cup venue after the IPL finals

Pakistan will serve as the host nation for the 2023 Asia Cup tournament irrespective of the venue. This is the same as Sri Lanka hosting the tournament last year with UAE being the venue. “The respective presidents of the Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka Cricket Boards will grace the Tata IPL 2023 final to be held on May 28 at the Narendra Modi Stadium. We will hold discussions with them for outlining the future course of action in relation to Asia Cup 2023,” Jay Shah said.

Najam Sethi remarked that the PCB is waiting for an official response from the ACC regarding its suggested “hybrid model” for the Asia Cup as the host. In his remarks, he said that the PCB is willing to play India at a neutral location, particularly in Dubai. “My understanding was that there were apprehensions on whether the neutral venue would be in Dubai or not. I was reluctant to host it in Sri Lanka as being the host,” Sethi said.