On Wednesday, (July 08) BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, in conversation with ‘Sports Tak’ on Instagram Live session, confirmed that the Asia Cup cricket tournament, which was supposed to be held in September this year, has been cancelled.

“Asia Cup cancel ho chuka hai, joh September me tha (Asia Cup, which was to be held in September, has been cancelled),” Ganguly had said.

However, after Ganguly’s statement, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) dropped its reaction stating the claim of former India captain has no merit as the fate of Asia Cup is to be decided by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).

“The statements made by Sourav Ganguly have no impact on proceedings. Even if he passes comments every week, they do not hold weight or merit. The decision regarding the Asia Cup will be taken by the ACC. The announcement can only be made by the president of the Asian body Nazmul Hasan. To the best of our knowledge, the schedule of the next ACC meeting is yet to be announced,” said PCB media director Samiul Hasan.

Now, the ACC has revealed an official statement which puts a stamp on Ganguly’s claim. The official body has announced that Asia Cup has been postponed until June 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic. ACC’s Executive Board met on multiple occasions to evaluate the impact of the epidemic and decided to delay the tournament.

“From the onset, the Board was keen on organising the tournament as per the original schedule. However, travel restrictions, country-specific quarantine requirements, fundamental health risks and social distancing mandates have posed as substantial challenges to the holding of the Asia Cup,” a statement issued by ACC read.

“Above all, the risks related to health and safety of participating players, support staff, commercial partners, fans and the cricketing community were deemed to be significant. Accordingly, the Board, after careful consideration of all the above factors, has determined that the Asia Cup 2020 be postponed,” it added.

The ACC also confirmed that Pakistan, who were set to host the tournament this year, have exchanged hosting rights with Sri Lanka. Now, the Island Nation will stage next year’s event, while PCB will host the 2022 edition.

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Within a span of 24 hours, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have had different takes on the possibility of the Asia Cup this year.

Earlier, PCB CEO Wasim Khan stated that the board is hopeful of the conduct of the coveted multilateral series in UAE or Sri Lanka.

“The Asia Cup will go ahead. The Pakistan team returns from England on 2nd September so we can have the tournament in September or October. There are some things which will only get clear in due course of time. We are hopeful of having the Asia Cup because Sri Lanka has not had too many cases of the coronavirus. If they can’t do it, then the UAE is also ready,” Wasim said in a press conference earlier.

However, one of the functionaries in the apex cricketing board in India suggested that the proposed window by PCB doesn’t suit them.

Also, the executive tagged the possibility of the tournament as a ‘struggle’ looking at the ‘challenging’ times.

“Asia Cup will be a struggle this year. Going by the statement of the Chief Executive of the PCB, the window that suits them doesn’t suit India. Maybe they can postpone PSL next year if BCCI is able to open up a window during that period. Otherwise conducting the Asia Cup doesn’t seem too practical as these are challenging times,” the functionary was quoted as saying by Outlook.

The ongoing pandemic situation has disrupted the calendar year for 2020, with clouds hovering over the prized 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia as well as the 13th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Earlier in February, the BCCI President Sourav Ganguly gave the nod to the event scheduled later in September this year.

The 2018 edition of the Asia Cup was held in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where the Indian team came out victorious by defeating Bangladesh in the final.

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The CEO of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that the 2020 edition of Asia Cup will go ahead as per schedule, either in Sri Lanka or Bangladesh.

Earlier, it was speculated that the upcoming edition of the Asia Cup would be scrapped to make room for the impending 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

However, Khan rejected any such speculation and stated, “The Asia Cup will go ahead. The Pakistan team returns from England on 2nd September so we can have the tournament in September or October.”

“There are some things which will only get clear in the due course of time. We are hopeful of having the Asia Cup because Sri Lanka has not had too many cases of the Coronavirus. If they can’t do it, then UAE is also ready,” he said in a press conference.

Earlier, the BCCI agreed to take part in the event only on the condition that the tournament is held at a neutral venue and moved outside Pakistan, citing security concerns.

Therefore, the tournament was moved to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from the host nation Pakistan. Now, the PCB CEO is open to let Sri Lanka host the event.

Also, Khan suggested that the apex cricketing board in Pakistan is chalking out options to play cricket in the window for T20 World Cup, in case the tournament is scrapped.

“We are to go to New Zealand in December after hosting Zimbabwe at home. South Africa is ready to tour in January-February to play two or three Tests and some T20 matches,” Khan concluded.

Pakistan is all set for the tour of England to play three Tests and as many T20Is. However, clouds have already started to hover over the tour due to the COVID-19 positive diagnosis of as many as 10 Pakistan internationals. Further, PCB suggested that it would go ahead with the UK tour.

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The coronavirus pandemic has made cricket bodies to look at the current situation of organising cricketing events in a completely different way. While the fate of this year’s T20 World Cup is expected to be decided in the ICC meeting on Wednesday, talks of Asia Cup to be held in UAE or Sri Lanka have already begun after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s willingness to give up the hosting rights for this edition.

ACC conducts a video conference for the discussion regarding Asia Cup

Now, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) gave a big update over the same. ACC, on Monday, said the final call on Asia Cup 2020 will be taken in the near future. They added that the venue where the event will be organized was also discussed during the video conference. ACC mentioned that Sourav Ganguly also attended that meeting for the first time after he was appointed as BCCI’s chief.

“In particular, the board emphasized on the importance of holding the Asia Cup 2020. In light of the impact and consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, possible venue options for the Asia Cup 2020 were discussed and it was decided to take the final decision in due course,” the ACC update stated.

“The Board was also apprised of the status and progress of the ACC’s involvement with the Asian Games 2022 in Hangzhou, China. The Board noted with satisfaction the ongoing activities and initiatives of the ACC. The meeting was chaired by the ACC President Nazmul Hassan. Attending for the first time was the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Sourav Ganguly,” ACC added in their press release.

KH Imran, Vice President ACC; Ehsan Mani, Chairman, Pakistan Cricket Board; Shammi Silva, President, Sri Lanka Cricket; Wasim Khan, Ex-officio, CEO, PCB among others present at the meeting.

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Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has suggested a solution to the pertinent problem of scheduling the three marquee events lined up this year.

The conduct of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, along with Asia Cup and ICC T20 World Cup, is at stake at the moment due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The three tournaments will include the presence of all prominent international stars in world cricket. However, due to the current global situation, migration from one country to the other is prohibited.

“As we all know, Australia has barred foreigners from entering the country until September 30. The tournament (T20 World Cup) starts mid-October, so it is looking difficult at the moment,” Sunny told India Today.

According to Gavaskar, the next T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in India, should be swapped with the upcoming tournament scheduled this year in Australia.

“Next year the T20 World Cup is in India. If India and Australia come to an agreement and the COVID-19 curve in India flattens out, they can swap. It can be held in India this October-November and next year in Australia around the same time,” added Gavaskar.

There have been speculations regarding the possible windows in July-August. The availability of foreign internationals would turn out to be an issue with bilateral commitments of major cricketing nations.
Also, there have been talks regarding IPL 2020 being held during the T20 World Cup in October-November.

However, with the arrangement proposed by the Little Master, all three tournaments can take place seamlessly.

“If it (T20 WC swap) happens that way, IPL is just held prior to T20 World Cup so there is enough practice for the players. Then you can have the T20 World Cup in November and Asia Cup in December in UAE. December is a much better time to host a tournament in the UAE,” the 70-year concluded.

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Along with several bilateral as well as multilateral affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the conduct of Asia Cup 2020 remains uncertain, according to Pakistan Cricket Board chief Ehsan Mani.

The tournament was scheduled to be played in September this year, building up to the highly anticipated ICC T20 World Cup in Australia.

“There’s uncertainty over the Asia Cup. Nothing has been decided yet. The whole world is in an uncertain state,” Ehsaan Mani told The Telegraph.

Asia Cup 2020 was slated to be hosted in Pakistan, but BCCI President Sourav Ganguly denied touring the country, citing security concerns of its players. However, Ganguly had no problems with Pakistan hosting the tournament provided it was played on neutral grounds.

As a result, the tournament was pushed to the neutral venues of UAE, which also hosted the 2018 edition.

“You don’t know what it will be like in September. Don’t get me wrong, but it will depend on several factors,” further affirmed the PCB Chairman. “Mere speculation won’t help. Maybe the situation will be clearer in a month,” concluded Mani.

Additionally, there have been speculations regarding the proposed window for the 2020 edition of India Premier League (IPL).

Many have claimed that the cash-rich league will be pushed in between the window for ICC T20 World Cup 2020, which in turn will be hosted next year in 2021.

However, the CEO of T20 World Cup organizing committee, Nick Hockley, remains optimistic about the possibility of the marquee event in the month of October-November.

“We’re wanting to give ourselves the best possible chance of going ahead as planned, so there’s no imminent or quick decision,” Hockley told cricket.com.au.

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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) finally agreed to the hosting of the Asia Cup at a neutral venue in Abu Dhabi in UAE, on Saturday.

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly stated earlier that the Indian team would not tour their neighbours for the Asia Cup. In fact, the Indian board threatened to pull out of the tournament.

The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) gave in to the thought of a tournament without the participation of the cricketing giant, and its financial viability.

PCB lynchpin Ehsan Mani cited ACC’s dependency for funds generated through India’s participation as the reason for the tournament being held at a neutral venue – like the last time in 2018.

“There are so many new cricket-playing nations in Asia, and they required funds for that. The organizers get the funds by hosting the Asia Cup,” said Mani while speaking to news.co.pk.

“In case India stays out, it is unlikely that the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) would generate the required funds. Thus, we have decided not to force organizers to hold the Asia Cup in Pakistan,” he added.

India has not featured in any bilateral series against Pakistan since 2012. They have only faced their neighbouring arch-rivals during multilateral ICC events and Asia Cup.

However, Mani affirmed that Pakistan does not need any external support for hosting prominent international events.

Teams like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have visited Pakistan for a full-fledged tour. Apart from these events, Pakistan is currently hosting the Pakistan Super League (PSL) featuring several international stars.

“We have been hosting international events and the PSL also. We have proved that we can host these events without any outside help,” concluded the PCB chief.

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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made it clear that they do not have any problem with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) hosting the T20 Asia Cup, but the Men in Blue will not participate in the tournament if it is held in Pakistan.

It’s clear with this statement that the BCCI wants the tournament to take place at a neutral venue or the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) will have to go ahead with the competition without India participating.

In the few days, there’s been a lot of speculation regarding the venue for the Asia Cup, with reports emerging that Pakistan had invited Bangladesh to play in the country by promising them hosting rights for the Asia Cup in September.

However, PCB chief executive Wasim Khan has quashed all these claims and also went on to state that Pakistan will pull out of the 2021 T20 World Cup to be held in India if the BCCI does not send their team for the Asia Cup, before backtracking later and stating that his comments were blown out of proportion and taken out of context.

Now, a BCCI official has come out and stated that the Indian team will not play in Pakistan, thereby giving the tournament a miss. The official went on to add that if India are to participate in the Asia Cup, the multi-nation tournament has to be held at a neutral venue.

“The question isn’t about the PCB hosting the tournament. It is about the venue and as things stand now, it is quite clear that we would need a neutral venue. There is no way that an Indian team can visit Pakistan to even participate in a multi-nation event like the Asia Cup,” a BCCI official told news agency IANS.

“If the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is ok with an Asia Cup minus India then it is a different ball game. But if India is to participate in the Asia Cup, then the venue cannot be Pakistan,” the official said.

An India-Pakistan Asia Cup match at a neutral venue is not unprecedented.

“A neutral venue is always an option. BCCI did it in 2018,” the official pointed, with reference to the last edition of the tournament when the PCB had cited issues in obtaining the Indian visas for the players. The BCCI had then hosted the tournament in the UAE.

The BCCI will now be expecting the PCB and the ACC to do the same to ensure India’s participation in the tournament.

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Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Wasim Khan has made a U-turn on his earlier statement where he said the Green Shirts will not travel to India for the 2021 T20 World Cup if the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) doesn’t allow the Men in Blue to tour Pakistan for the Asia Cup T20, in September this year.

“This has been completely taken out of context. Even though we would still want to host the Asia Cup in Pakistan, the Asian Cricket Council needs to decide on what it will do about the matches involving India,” Khan was quoted as saying by Sportstar.

“It’s absolutely incorrect. What I would like to say is that we are concerned about security issues and also there could be issue in attaining visas. But we are confident that things will ease out over the period of time,” Khan added.

He also clarified that there is no question of pulling out from the 2021 T20 World Cup as it is an ICC event.

Earlier, Khan had dismissed reports of Pakistan giving up their hosting rights for the Asia Cup T20 to Bangladesh. He even said that if the Indian team doesn’t tour Pakistan this year, then the Green Shirts would also refuse to participate in the 2021 T20 World Cup.

“We are currently considering two venues to host the Asia Cup,” he was quoted as saying by The Dawn.

“If India doesn’t come to Pakistan for the Asia Cup, we would also refuse participation in the 2021 T20 World Cup there,” Khan had added.

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