In a recent episode of the BBC podcast Stumped, the president of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Najam Sethi, expressed his optimism that Pakistan will be able to host the Asia Cup in the future. He also noted that discussions with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) over a ‘hybrid-model’ had been fruitful. The 2018 Asia Cup, which will be played out in one-day international style, will be officially hosted by Pakistan.
According to Sethi, the hybrid approach would result in just four out of the total of thirteen matches being played in Pakistan, with the other matches being played in a location that is not affiliated with either team. He is of the opinion that if the hybrid model is successful, it may be the answer to the problem of how Pakistan can compete in the forthcoming ODI World Cup matches that would be held outside of India.
“We play four matches in Pakistan, and the teams come straight here. After that, everybody moves to the neutral venue, wherever that may be.” There, we play the remaining games of the tournament. I agreed to make a compromise in which, in the event that we make it to the final, we will play it at a neutral location, regardless of whether we are playing India or anyone else. According to the podcast published by ESPNCricinfo, Sethi was cited as claiming that “we have bent over backwards to solve all of these issues.”
“We are happy to participate in the Asia Cup, but it can’t be that India refuses to come to Pakistan and then doesn’t allow us to even host a few of our matches at a neutral venue. This simply can’t be the case.” Keep in mind that the World Cup will start right after the Asia Cup, and that it will be held in India. Additionally, the World Cup will be an ICC event.
What will take place in the event that India does not visit Pakistan or if India sabotages my hybrid model? He said, “I don’t think my government will give me permission to travel to India to compete in the World Cup.”
Both the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) turned down the opportunity to participate in the event in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Along with the difficulty of the logistics, the heat was recognized as a key problem by BCB.
SLC had also offered similar reasons, however they were open to the notion of hosting the event on behalf of Pakistan despite the fact that they had previously given those reasons. Mohan de Silva, the secretary of the SLC, was quoted in a prior statement as saying, “We have written to the ACC to say that we are against the hybrid model.”
We will accept the opportunity to compete in the tournament in Sri Lanka if it is presented to us. Mohan has previously stated that Pakistan will serve as the official host nation. Sethi claims that his idea is the answer to all of the issues. In addition to this, he was not opposed to the concept of holding a portion of the tournament in Sri Lanka.
“Bangladesh’s sole concern was that September in the UAE may have temperatures that are uncomfortably high, and they regarded this as a potential issue. Then there was the additional problem of logistics. He had replied something to the effect of “the proposal that I submitted takes care of all logistic problems.”
We need to make reservations at locations in the UAE or Sri Lanka, depending on where we end up holding the event. Because there is no more time, the ACC is going to have to make a choice. Our stance has been made quite clear. In Dubai, where I am currently based, I met with a high-level ACC interlocutor two days ago. It appealed to him, and he said that it is quite practicable. He mentioned that he will go back to Jay Shah, who is the secretary of the BCCI and the head of the ACC, and talk to him, he continued.