New Delhi: Pakistan’s drama regarding Asia Cup and World Cup has been going on for some time now. Despite the fact that the Asia Cup tournament is scheduled according to the hybrid model, Pakistan is making a fuss. Pakistan’s Sports Minister Ahsan Mazari said that he will again oppose India not to come to Pakistan for this tournament and if Team India does not come here then Pakistan team will also demand its match at a neutral venue for the World Cup. Amidst this, IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal has made a big statement. He has given a jaw-dropping reply to Pakistan. Dhumal has said that whatever happens, Team India will not tour Pakistan.
Dhumal is currently in Durban for the ICC Chief Executives Meeting (CEC). He confirmed that BCCI secretary Jay Shah and PCB representative chief Zaka Ashraf met to finalize the schedule ahead of Thursday’s ICC board meeting. Dhumal said BCCI secretary met PCB chief Zaka Ashraf and the Asia Cup schedule has been finalised. He said Pakistan will have four matches in the league round while Sri Lanka will play nine matches. It includes both matches between India and Pakistan. If both the teams play the final, the third match will also be played in Sri Lanka.
Dismissing reports coming from the Pakistani media, Dai Dhumal said there was no discussion that India would tour Pakistan. He said in all probability India will play against Pakistan in Dambulla, Sri Lanka just like 2010. Pakistan’s only match at home will be against Nepal. The other three matches to be played there could be Afghanistan vs Bangladesh, Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan.
The Asia Cup is going to start from August 31 while the final of the Asia Cup will be played on September 17. At the same time, the ODI World Cup is going to start with the match between England and New Zealand from October 5 in Ahmedabad. India will play their first match against Australia on October 8. Along with this, Pakistan has to play the first two matches against Netherlands and Sri Lanka.
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There has been a controversy over the venue of the Asia Cup since last year. PCB’s drama continues after Asian Cricket Council president Jay Shah announced to hold the tournament at a neutral venue. Former PCB chief Ramiz Raja protested against Pakistan not holding the tournament and threatened not to come to India for the World Cup. Najam Sethi then became the interim chairman of PCB. He also gave a similar threat. However, later after several meetings, it was decided to organize the tournament on a hybrid model. In which four matches were decided to be held in Pakistan while all other matches including the Super-Four and the final were decided to be held in Sri Lanka.