New Delhi. PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf has spoken to BCCI Secretary and Asian Cricket Council President Jay Shah and suggested shifting the Asia Cup matches to Pakistan in view of heavy rains in Sri Lanka. This information has been received from Dawn News. Earlier, the match between India and Pakistan in Kandy on Saturday had to be canceled due to rain. Only one inning could be played in this match. Batting first, India scored 266 runs in 48.5 overs. In response to which Pakistan’s innings could not start due to rain.
Meanwhile, Colombo is experiencing heavy rains and flood-like conditions. On the other hand, Kandy is also receiving rain from time to time. A group match between India and Nepal is to be played here on Monday. There is fear of rain falling on it too. It may rain here in the evening. That means there is a possibility of disturbance in this match due to rain. Due to this reason the Super-4 phase matches may be shifted from Colombo.
Let us tell you that there are two matches left in the group stage of the Asia Cup. The match between India and Pakistan will be played in Kandy on Monday and the match between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka is scheduled to be played in Lahore on Tuesday. Super-4 round is going to start from Wednesday. Five of his matches are to be played in Colombo. Meanwhile, the final is also scheduled to be held on September 17 in Colombo. But the Sri Lanka Meteorological Department has expressed the possibility of rain in Colombo in the coming days as well. In such a situation, the Super-4 round match may also be affected by rain. Keeping this in mind, the Asian Cricket Council is considering to change the venue of the matches of the Super-4 phase of the Asia Cup. All teams have been informed about the deteriorating weather in Colombo.
Changing place is not easy
Alternative venue is also an issue if the Asia Cup Super-4 round matches are shifted from Colombo. Dambulla was suggested as an option but Team India was not satisfied with the hotel facilities there. Not only this, the flood light work of the stadium is also not completed yet. However, Dambulla is located in a part of Sri Lanka that receives much less rainfall at this time of year than Kandy and Colombo.
Najam Sethi was also upset over the ACC schedule
Earlier, former PCB chairman Najam Sethi also expressed his displeasure over the cancellation of the India-Pakistan match due to rain. How disappointing, he wrote. Rain interrupted cricket’s biggest match but it was also predicted. As PCB chairman, I requested the Asian Cricket Council to play in the UAE, but Sri Lanka was given futile arguments for hosting the event. He said that the weather in Dubai will be extremely hot but the last time the Asia Cup was played there in September 2022 was as hot or even during the IPL 2020. Politics over sports cannot be condoned.
Difficult to implement PCB chairman’s suggestion
However, current PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf’s suggestion that the remaining matches of the Asia Cup be shifted to Pakistan is difficult to implement as the BCCI’s stance is clear. The Indian Cricket Board has already said that Team India will not go to Pakistan for the Asia Cup. For this reason, the tournament is being held under a hybrid model in Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
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Tags: Asia Cup, India Vs Pakistan, Jai Shah, pcb
First published: September 04, 2023, 13:44 IST