India are the defending Asia Cup champions. (Source: AP)
The 2018 Asia Cup will be played in Abu Dhabi and Dubai from September 13-28 (first match on 15), with the BCCI hosting the event. The cricket board acting secretary, Amitabh Choudhary, who attended the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, informed that the ACC Executive Board “unanimously” agreed upon the venues. The tournament, to be played in 50-over-a-side format with an eye to the next year’s ICC World Cup, will have India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and the winner of the Asia Cup qualifier as the participants.
“The BCCI sought permission from the Government of India, which has been granted,” a cricket board insider told The Indian Express.
It was the BCCI’s turn to host the event this year. But the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had raised objection over playing matches in India, citing the BCCI’s refusal to participate in the Asian Emerging Nations Cup in Pakistan. More importantly, as a BCCI source put it, “the Indian Government could have objected to Pakistan playing (Asia Cup) matches in India”.
Accordingly, to ensure all Test-playing countries from Asia turn up, the UAE has been chosen as a neutral venue, without changing the BCCI’s host status. Ironically though, the UAE has had been Pakistan cricket’s adopted home for international matches since 2009, following the terrorists attack on touring Sri Lanka cricketers in Lahore. The BCCI had earlier moved the first phase of the 2014 IPL to UAE as it clashed with the general elections. “This Asia Cup arrangement is pretty similar to that, although the reasons are different,” a cricket board functionary said.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka will be hosting the Asian Emerging Nations Cup instead of Pakistan. The tournament was scheduled to play in April. The new itinerary will be announced shortly. According to a source, however, Pakistan still might host some matches of the tournament.
An ACC meeting in October last year had awarded the hosting rights of the Emerging Nations Cup to Pakistan. But the BCCI and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) didn’t attend the meeting. The BCCI then opposed to Pakistan hosting the event, citing security reasons. The PCB in turn spoke about not sending their team for the Asia Cup in India.
The two cricket boards are at loggerheads over bilateral cricket series. In 2014 an MoU had been signed between the BCCI and the PCB, stating that the two countries would play six bilateral series between 2015 and 2023. Last year, the PCB had sent a legal notice to its Indian counterpart, alleging contract breach and seeking compensation.