India will insist on a neutral venue for next year’s Asia Cup, that is scheduled to be held in Pakistan. After the Annual General Meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India in Mumbai on Tuesday (October 18), the BCCI arrived at a conclusion that it will not travel to Pakistan for the continental championship and demand that the tournament be moved to a neutral venue.
“Neutral venue for Asia Cup is not unprecedented and we have decided that we will not travel to Pakistan,” Jay Shah, the secretary of the BCCI and also the president of the ACC, said. “I have decided that we will play at a neutral venue,” Shah said.
The 2022 edition of the Asia Cup, allotted to Sri Lanka was held in UAE. The Asia Cup 2023 edition, a 50-over championship, a pre-cursor to the World Cup in India, has been allotted to Pakistan.
BCCI had initially kept the option of travelling to Pakistan but Shah clarified that the question does not arise.
The BCCI, however, has deferred a decision over the team’s participation in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, which has been allotted to Pakistan, stating that there is a lot of time left for that championship.
The BCCI officials also said the AGM did not discuss the ICC election matter. Anyone who had been director of the world body, meaning who has attended a Board meeting, is eligible to contest for the ICC Chair. The matter of BCCI’s representative to the ICC has also been left to the office-bearers. Secretary Jay Shah is likely to be the first choice for this.
The decision comes a day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to support Sourav Ganguly for the ICC job.
“Whoever is qualified is free to file nomination and the office-bearers will decide,” Rajeev Shukla, the vice-president, said. Whether Ganguly will file the nomination is to be seen but it appears that incumbent ICC Chair Greg Barclay will contest again to seek another term with the likelihood of Imran Khwaja, former deputy chair, also filing papers. The last date for filing nomination is Thursday (October 20). The election is in the second week of November in Melbourne.
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