Asia Cup 2023: Sri Lanka, Bangladesh voice concerns over Pakistan's 'hybrid' hosting solution

In another blow to Pakistan’s hopes of hosting this year’s Asia Cup, the Sri Lanka and Bangladesh cricket boards have rejected the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) “hybrid” solution of hosting part of the tournament at a neutral venue.

Pakistan had offered to host matches involving India at a neutral venue such as the UAE — which has hosted the last two editions — while the rest of the tournament takes place at its own backyard.

Read | ‘India is flexing its muscles,’ says Shahid Afridi on Asia Cup 2023 controversy

According to ESPNCricinfo, however, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) have cited logistical challenges in travelling back and forth between Pakistan and a second nation during the tournament, while adding the challenge of heat and humidity in the UAE in the month of September, when the tournament is scheduled to be hosted this year.

“We have written to the ACC to say that we are against the hybrid model. But beyond that, no final decision has been reached. It’s very hot in the UAE at that time of year,” SLC secretary Mohan de Silva was quoted as saying in the report.

A PCB official, meanwhile, has stated that Pakistan will refuse to play the tournament is the “hybrid” solution is rejected.

“The PCB presented a hybrid model that resolves issues of logistics and travel and production. The board reiterated its position that we would not play the Asia Cup if the Pakistan-plus-neutral-venue model is rejected,” the official stated in the report.

Read | PCB opposes move to shift Asia Cup from Pakistan to Sri Lanka

The 2023 Asia Cup was slated to be the first multi-nation tournament hosted entirely in Pakistan since the 2008 edition of the same tournament. The Board of Control for Cricket In India (BCCI) however, has refused to travel to Pakistan citing political tensions with their neighbours.

The BCCI had even asked for the tournament to be shifted entirely to a different country, which had been the case in the last two editions. Pakistan had refused to travel to India in 2018 for similar reasons, because of which the tournament, played in the 50-over format, had to be played entirely in the UAE.

The 2022 edition also had to be moved to the UAE due to political unrest in Sri Lanka, which was supposed to host the T20 version that year though it did retain hosting rights for the same in the end.

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