Pakistan's Rights Cancelled; UAE or Qatar to Host Asia Cup 2023

image-lftwvrwxIndia and Pakistan are to cross swords in the Asia Cup 2023 (Twitter)

In what comes as a major development pertaining to the 2023 edition of the Asia Cup, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) emerged as the frontrunners to host the multi-nation tournament.

It was initially announced that Pakistan will host the Asia Cup 2023 in September this year. Organizing a high-profile tournament like the Asia Cup could've helped them attain financial stability amidst the crisis.

However, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president and BCCI secretary Jay Shah confirmed last year that the 2023 Asia Cup will be moved to a neutral venue from Pakistan due to security reasons.

While UAE has hosted the last two editions of the tournament, Qatar has also shown interest in staging the tournament as a neutral venue amidst political tensions between the neighboring countries. Both countries have already hosted a few cricket tournaments and franchise-based cricket leagues.

A source close to the BCCI said that the Asia Cup will be played in Qatar or UAE and Pakistan will have to play in either of the two countries.

"We understand the pressure tactic applied by PCB because of Asia Cup but let me tell you, Asia Cup will be played in Qatar or UAE, probably Pakistan has to play in any of the countries,"  the BCCI official told PTI.

BCCI and PCB had developed a disagreement when Jay Shah announced the change of the venue of Asia Cup 2022 from Pakistan.

It is worth noting that officials from the BCCI cleared it in the ACC meeting in Bahrain, that the board will not allow the Indian players to travel to Pakistan for the event.

This year's Asia Cup will be played in the 50-over format. The tournament will have six qualified teams competing against each other in a round-robin format.