Reports: BCCI to pull out from Asia Cup 2021 owing to jam packed cricket calendar

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is unlikely to take part in the 2021 edition of the Asia Cup, which is scheduled to be hosted by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in June 2021 in Sri Lanka. The Indian board has decided to pull out of the marquee event to make more space in their international calendar for conducting the bilateral series that were postponed last year owing to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Also, the Asia Cup 2021 is likely to clash with the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) which will be hosted by the International Cricket Council in mid-June of 2021 at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in England. While the chances of other Asian nations to make it to the final of the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship are slim, India is very much there in the race.

Australia is placed at the top of the WTC points table with 332 points and 73.8 percentage win followed by India at the second spot with 400 points and 70.2 percentage win. The race for Top 2 is getting intense with New Zealand at third place with 70% and England at fourth with 65.2%.

Broadcasters unhappy with BCCI’s decision of not participating in Asia Cup

The 2020 Asia Cup was postponed last year and moved to 2021 with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) working towards securing June 2021 as a suitable window for the tournament. Also, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), had exchanged hosting rights for the tournament with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). Through this arrangement, The SLC is now expected to host the rescheduled Asia Cup expected in June 2021 while the PCB will host the Asia Cup 2022.

Meanwhile, abandonment of the Asia Cup by BCCI can be a huge blow for broadcasters and the other cricket boards as the authorities and sponsors were looking forward to earning a whopping revenue from the highly-anticipated match between India and Pakistan that happens only during the Asia Cup or any ICC tournament.

However, to compensate for the loss of the broadcasters, the Indian board is planning to host bilateral series like inviting Sri Lanka, hosting New Zealand before the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 and organising the series between India and South Africa that was postponed due to Covid-19.