Pakistan's call whether to participate in Asia Cup 2018 or not, says BCCI

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made it very clear that the 2018 edition of the Asia Cup will roll out as per the plan. The FTP of the Indian cricket board has already allocated the slot for the popular tournament. Reportedly, the recent remarks made by the board is a direct jibe at their Pakistani counterparts. Over the last few months, the boards of India and Pakistan have been at loggerheads citing various bilateral issues.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is keen on playing against India in a bilateral series. However, the BCCI is unwilling to do so owing to the no government clearances because of the political tensions. Amidst this backdrop, the BCCI won the bids to host the Asia Cup 2018. Miffed by the stern stance of the Indian board on the bilateral ties, the PCB had threatened to pull out of the Asia Cup.

Also, they were utterly disappointed with India hosting the mega event. Now, the acting BCCI secretary, Amitabh Chaudhary, has quoted that the tournament will be played as scheduled. Hence, whether to participate in it or not remains to be a personal call for the PCB. The FTP suggests that the 14th edition of the Asia Cup will take place from September 15 to September 30.

“Asia Cup is a part of the FTP. Irrespective of the names of the teams, the tournament has already factored in. There is nothing about it,” Amitabh Chaudhary quoted as per the reports in ANI.

“That is a question that Pakistan has to decide. In 2016, in the World T20 in India, Pakistan participated,” he added when asked about Pakistan’s participation in the tournament.

PCB’s stance

Earlier, the PCB Chief Najam Sethi had remarked that much like their Indian counterparts, even they are entitled to government clearances to visit India for the Asia Cup. The bitterness between the two teams dates back to 2014 when they had signed an MoU promising to play one another in six bilateral competitions in the next 8 years back then. PCB filed a case against India for failing to oblige to the same. They are awaiting the results of that case too.

“I also raised the point that since the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is still awaiting an approval from the government to hold the Asia Cup and wants the visa clearance of all the participating teams, the PCB will decide whether to go to India or not because we are also bound by our government’s clearance,” Sethi had told Dawn.

“If Pakistan wins the case, India will have to give us the matches and for that purpose the FTP will be changed. And if we lose, the same FTP with some minor changes may go ahead,” Sethi had mentioned further.

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