Asia Cup Hybrid model: Final call on Asia Cup venue to be taken after IPL final, says BCCI's Jay Shah

2023 Asia Cup: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has said that the final decision on the country or countries hosting the Asia Cup will be discussed on the sidelines of the IPL final, which is scheduled on Sunday.  

BCCI secretary Jay Shah on Thursday said that a host of top Asian Cricket Council (ACC) dignitaries will be present at the final match in Ahmedabad on May 28, where it will be decided who all will host the Asia Cup matches. 

"The respective presidents of the Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka Cricket Boards will grace the 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,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who is also the president of the Asian Cricket Council, told PTI. 

Earlier, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Najam Sethi had proposed a ‘Hybrid Model’ where four games are supposed to be hosted in their country. India, which had cited safety concerns, have ruled out travelling to Pakistan for the Asia Cup in September. Following this, PCB offered to let them play their matches in the United Arab Emirates, which is now dubbed as a “hybrid model”. A section of the Pakistan media reported that the BCCI has agreed to a hybrid model of staging matches. 

 As per the PCB’s plan, the first four non-India matches in the league stage including Pakistan’s home tie against Nepal to be played in Lahore. After that, the tournament can move to a neutral venue for other matches. The window for the Asia Cup this year is between September 1 and 17, a month before the ODI World Cup. Till now, BCCI officials have refuted these reports. 

“ACC head Jay Shah will summon an executive body meeting where a formal announcement will take place. The PCB doesn’t mind playing India at a neutral venue. While they would prefer Dubai because it would lead to more gate receipts, it is open to playing in another country (read Sri Lanka) provided the ACC matches the gate receipts amount (USD 0.5 million) that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) received in 2022 from the Indo-Pak games in Dubai,” an ACC source privy to development told PTI on conditions of anonymity. 

Earlier, PCB chief Sethi had said that if ACC chief Jay Shah did not approve Pakistan as a partial host, Babr Azam and Co would not travel to India for the ODI World Cup. 

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