Today a meeting was held between the PCB & BCCi about Asia Cup 2023. Here are the complete Details.
India vs Pakistan cricket matches have always been eye candies for the marketing department as there is a collective audience of more than a billion people. These matches have created an issue this year, and BCCI will discuss it in the upcoming SGM.
They always start with this matchup, whether the ICC or Asia Cup events. Some people have gone so far as to say that the hype of these matches has crossed the hype of the Ashes Cup. This year, the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 will start with India vs. Pakistan match. But this match is under threat as the heat between both countries is rising.
India vs. Pakistan’s political issue is no secret. But both countries have always resolved these issues or tried to resolve these issues using cricket diplomacy. This year, they are not in the mood to do that much.
Hence, in the upcoming SGM, BCCI will be discussing this. In this article, we will talk about the meeting and how things get resolved.
Special General Meeting to Discuss India vs. Pakistan Deadlock
India and Pakistan are at an impasse regarding their World and Asia Cup participation. This is because of various reasons. We will talk about these reasons in the next section of this article. For now, I will talk about the SGM that the BCCI has planned on 27 May 2023.
On 27 May 2023, BCCI has planned a general meeting to discuss important matters like the ICC World Cup 2023 schedule. But the hottest topic will be regarding the participation of Pakistan in the world cup and India’s Participation in the Asia Cup this September.
The Asia Cup 2023 India Team Squad is also announced today.
This meeting will decide whether India will go to Pakistan for the Asia Cup. And eventually, it will also decide what Pakistan’s stance will be for the World Cup in October this year.
Background
From India’s point of view, their government does not want the Indian team to visit Pakistan for the Asia Cup due to security reasons. Due to the political instability in Pakistan, they have proposed that the country isn’t safe enough for the teams.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has taken other Asian teams for the Asia Cup Hybrid model, which we will discuss in the solutions section.
Due to India not being willing to come to Pakistan or not agreeing on the Hybrid model, Najam Sethi has categorically denied coming to India for the ICC world cup 2023. Pakistan proposes not to play in the Ahmedabad stadium or any other match in India except the finale.
BCCI will look forward to solving these problems in the upcoming SGM on 27 May 2023.
Possible solutions
Pakistan’s Side: Pakistan has proposed a hybrid model for hosting the Asia Cup. This means they will host some matches in Pakistan and some in India. This will satisfy India’s demand for not wanting to play in Pakistan, while Pakistan can hold some matches there. If not, Pakistan is unwilling to play the ICC World Cup in India.
India’s Side: India can accept the solution that PCB has proposed as it solves everything quickly. But India is proposing that Sri Lanka or UAE host Asia Cup, as PCB’s hybrid model will cause financial problems for the Pakistani board.
Netizens from India’s side also propose that Pakistan has to play in the world cup. Otherwise, they will find themselves in hot waters.
Conclusions
As I have told you before, a collective of over 1 billion population watches cricket from these two countries alone. None of the sponsors will want either side to pull out of the tournaments. Hence, we can be optimistic that both countries will solve cricket.
Pakistan and India are both crazy for cricket. It will be sad for the audience if they miss out on such an exciting match due to petty political issues of both governments. Hence, BCCI has to reach a balanced decision in the SGM for the spirit of cricket.