With Pakistan set to host the Asia Cup in 2023, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah has provided a significant update on whether the Indian cricket team will cross the border to compete in the competition. As Shah mentioned, the event would be hosted at a neutral venue; the decision was made during the 91st Annual General Meeting in Mumbai on Tuesday. India, who last toured Pakistan in 2006, will have to wait even longer.
According to the FTP that was previously disclosed, Pakistan is slated to host two significant ICC tournaments in the following three years: the Asia Cup in 2019 (which will use a 50-over format in advance of the 2023 World Cup) and the Champions Trophy in 2025. For the first time, Pakistan was rewarded with the hosting rights of two significant ICC events as a result of cricket’s return to the nation after a ten-year absence. The developments that are anticipated to occur or how the PCB and other officials respond remain to be seen, however, as the BCCI has announced a neutral venue.
The development is a complete 180-degree reversal from the rumours that surfaced last week, which suggested that India might visit Pakistan. A statement that was distributed to all state associations named the Asia Cup in Pakistan as one of the competitions the Indian squad was anticipated to compete in, according to a Cricbuzz report.
“It will be subject to the clearance of the Government of India as always,” A BCCI representative was cited as stating. In reality, that wasn’t the case.
A highly anticipated cricket match has always been India vs. Pakistan. However, unlike in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s, when there was never a scarcity of an IND-PAK tie, bilateral series between the two have been completely abandoned as a result of political difficulties between the two countries. India and Pakistan have only engaged in combat 10 times in the past 10 years, all of which have taken place during ICC competitions, since their last bilateral series back in 2012–2013.
