The Asia Cricket Council (ACC) will be held in Bahrain on February 4th. The Asian Cup decision will come at a highly anticipated meeting attended by representatives from India’s Cricket Control Board (BCCI) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). With two cadres dropping out, it could turn into a stormy affair in the city of Bahrain, which faces the Persian Gulf.
The right to host the next Asian Cup, which will be an ODI championship between continental teams, has become a bone of contention, with BCCI and PCB at odds over venues. However, given the political tensions between India and Pakistan, the BCCI had said that the Indian team would not be able to travel to Pakistan. BCCI’s refusal was first escalated by former PCB chairman Ramiz Raja, who threatened to boycott the World Cup in India later this year. Raja’s successor, his Najam Sethi, seems to have taken a similar position, although there seems to be little support for his PCB position from other his ACC members.
BCCI and his PCB recently disbanded after BCCI Secretary and ACC President Jay Shah announced the council’s agenda. In a social media post, Sethi sarcastically stated: Hosts can also showcase the structure and calendar of PSL 2023 at the same time. I look forward to your prompt reply (sic). “
The PCB Chair’s comments were dismissed by his ACC, which said the Shah’s post was not one-sided. We are aware that PCB Chairman Najam Sethi has commented that the ACC Chairman has unilaterally finalized and announced the calendar. ACC wants to be clear that we are following well-established and appropriate processes. The calendar was approved by the Development Committee and Finance and Marketing Committee at a meeting held on December 13, 2022.
“The calendar was then shared individually with all participating members, including the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), via email dated 22 December 2022. Responses were received from certain member councils However, there were no comments or proposed changes from the PCB. In light of this, Mr Sethi’s comments on one social media platform are baseless and vehemently denied by the ACC,” the ACC said, supporting the Shah’s position.
It could turn out to be a stormy affair at the Bahrain conference, which will be held under such a backdrop.A BCCI official who was in Mumbai for the announcement of the Premier League women’s team said the Asian Cup will be finalized in February. It was confirmed that it will be held in Bahrain on the 4th.