BCCI seeks government clearance for organising Asia Cup 2018

After losing out on the organising rights of the U19 Asia Cup, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is not willing to let the hosting rights of next year’s Asia Cup slip from their hands. Hence, they are looking for the permission from the government to host the continent’s biggest cricketing event, which will inevitably feature Pakistan.

India and Pakistan have been at antipodes for quite a few years now and their cricket boards have acted in a similar fashion. After the BCCI decided not to play any bilateral series against the green shirts, their Pakistani counterparts moved to ACC to shift the U19 Asia Cup away from India, citing security reasons. ACC accepted their wish and there is a very strong possibility that if the scenario doesn’t change, PCB will not be willing to send their senior team in India.

As for the Indian board, they are badly in need of a clearance from the ruling government. “We had written to the government for the Under-19 Asia Cup three months ago and we did not get a response. So the event had to be shifted to Malaysia. Now for the senior event, we will again write to the government as there cannot be an Asia Cup without an India or Pakistan,” a BCCI official was quoted by Rediff.com on the condition of anonymity.

“We waited for government clearance for three months and after no clarity, the ACC decided to shift the tournament to Malaysia,” he further added. The official also stated that the tournament, which was expected to be held in June, will now be shifted to either September or October owing to the rain factor. “The rain could be a factor in June, therefore it was agreed to shift the tournament to September or October. The final dates will be announced soon,” he stated.

Asia Cup is meaningless without India-Pakistan clash

BCCI is also trying to make the government understand that the thrill quotient of Asia Cup will be significantly lowered if it doesn’t have a high voltage Indo-Pak clash. “The India-Pakistan clash in the Asia Cup is the marquee clash. If that doesn’t happen, the tournament is meaningless. And let me make it clear, it is not about playing Pakistan in a bilateral event, it is a multi-team event like any ICC event. Like any ICC event, Asia Cup also involves other teams and an India-Pakistan clash is unavoidable,” the official concluded.