Picture Credit: BCCI
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided against travelling to Pakistan for the next year’s Asia Cup and has insisted on holding the continental tournament at a neutral venue. The decision to not travel to Pakistan was taken at the BCCI’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday (18 October). Notably, the sixteenth edition of the Asia Cup, which will be played in ODI format will be hosted in Pakistan.
The 2022 edition of the continental showpiece event was hosted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after Sri Lanka could not host the tournament in the country due to financial and political crises. The hosting rights for the 16th edition are with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and initially, India were to travel to the country to take part in the event.
However, the Indian cricket board has decided against it considering the geopolitical tension between the two countries. "Neutral venue for Asia Cup is not unprecedented and we have decided that we will not travel to Pakistan," Jay Shah, the secretary of the BCCI and also the president of the ACC was quoted saying by Cricbuzz. "I have decided that we will play at a neutral venue," Shah said.
Notably, India and Pakistan do not play bilateral series anymore. The last time, the two teams met in a bilateral series was way back in 2014. Since then, India and Pakistan have only locked horns in multi-nation tournaments and ICC events. Recently, England Cricket Board (ECB) offered to host a Test series between the two teams at a neutral venue (England) but both boards turned down the proposal.