The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has reconsidered its decision and is now contemplating hosting the matches in Colombo for the Asia Cup 2023. The previous plan to move the tournament to Hambantota has been temporarily halted, and efforts are underway to assess whether the original schedule, with matches in Colombo, can still be followed.
According to the latest information from the ACC and Sri Lanka Cricket, the organizers are exploring the possibility of conducting the Colombo leg of the championship as initially intended, despite concerns about heavy rainfall due to prevailing weather patterns on the island, especially in the capital city. Weather conditions and forecasts are reportedly showing signs of improvement.
The Indian team arrived in Colombo on Tuesday afternoon and was greeted by bright and sunny weather upon checking into the Taj Samudra Hotel. The team management has not yet received official confirmation regarding the schedule, but they continue to assume that the matches will take place in the capital city.
Sources suggest that a final decision will be communicated to them within the next two days, during which the team has no scheduled practice sessions. There are six games scheduled in Colombo, including the final on September 17. The first Super 4 game is on September 9, followed by an India-Pakistan game on September 10. Three more games are scheduled for September 12, 14, and 15 before the final.
This development follows a strong response from Jay Shah, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and president of ACC, as well as Najam Sethi, the former President of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), who has criticized Shah and the ACC regarding the Asia Cup schedule.
“The decision-making process for the Asia Cup 2023 format and venue was driven by a sincere desire to prioritize the well-being of the players and the sport’s overarching interests. The ultimate goal was to strike a balance that would allow for a competitive and successful tournament while ensuring the health and readiness of the participating teams for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023,” Shah stated on Tuesday, without mentioning the shift to Hambantota.
Shah’s statement comes in response to continued criticism from Sethi, who recently remarked, “I proposed that we play five matches in Pakistan and eight in the UAE. This proposal was also rejected, and there were hints of giving the Asia Cup hosting rights to Sri Lanka if we didn’t comply. BCCI declined their request. Only Mr. (Jay) Shah can clarify why these options were dismissed and why Sri Lanka was chosen against all reason, logic, and rationality. The choice of venues in Sri Lanka also posed issues, as we have witnessed.”
Shah argued that moving the tournament to the UAE was not in the players’ best interests ahead of the World Cup. “The Asia Cup 2022 edition was played in the UAE in the T20 format. It’s essential to emphasize that the dynamics of a T20 tournament cannot be directly compared to those of a 100-over One-day format.
In this context, ACC members received input from their respective high-performance teams, who voiced apprehensions about holding One-day matches in the UAE in September. They expressed concerns about the potential for player exhaustion and a higher likelihood of injuries, especially in the lead-up to the crucial ICC Cricket World Cup,” clarified the ACC president.
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