Pakistan ready to have a co-host for Asia Cup 2023, seeks ACC approval

Why you’re reading this: The Asia Cup tournament is a biennial continental championship, organised by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), and competed among the top cricketing nations of Asia in the ODI and T20I formats. While the last edition of the tournament was held in the T20 format, the ODI format makes a return in the 2023 Asia Cup, which is likely to be held in September. It will serve as a preparatory tournament ahead of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023, scheduled to be held in India later this year.

3 things you need to know:

• Asia Cup 2023 was originally scheduled to be hosted by Pakistan
• It became a major talking point due to India’s denial of travelling to Pakistan
• A hybrid model is likely to be used for Asia Cup 2023

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PCB seeks ACC’s approval on hybrid model proposal for Asia Cup 2023

As reported by ESPNcricinfo, the Asian Cricket Council is likely to approve a hybrid model for Asia Cup 2023, proposed by the PCB. The report claims Sri Lanka will be a neutral venue for the tournament, where Team India will play their games. The hybrid model will have at least four to five matches being played in Pakistan.

While an announcement is expected anytime soon, the current window for the tournament is said to be between September 1 to 17. Under the hybrid model, the India vs Pakistan games will be held in Sri Lanka. The Asia Cup 2023 will also be played in the island nation if India qualifies for the summit clash.

ALSO READ | ACC Could Accept PCB's Hybrid Model For Asia Cup, Pakistan Team Set To Travel To India For WC: Reports

Asia Cup 2023: What has transpired so far?

As mentioned earlier, Pakistan was originally slated to host the Asia Cup 2023 but India denied travelling to the country due to the geopolitical tensions between the neighbouring countries. With reports claiming that the ACC is looking to shift the tournament out of Pakistan, the PCB threatened to pull out of the 2023 World Cup in India. The events also threatened a fallout for the 2023 Champions Trophy in Pakistan as well.

However, the reported agreement may now ease Pakistan’s path to the World Cup in India. The ESPNcricinfo report claims that PCB first offered UAE as a neutral venue for the IND vs PAK games, but Bangladesh cited the extreme weather to reject the proposal. At the same time, it is also understood that Sri Lanka was keen to host the whole tournament, with BCB and SLC initially rejecting the hybrid model.