MUMBAI: Even as speculation grows that India might well lose hosting rights for the 2018 Asia Cup due to the government’s unstated ban on Pakistan cricket teams playing in the country, the BCCI remains optimistic that come next September there will be some resolution.
Officials tracking the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting in Dubai told The Hindu that the Indian cricket board has set aside a September 2018 window to stage the Asia Cup and “this has not changed”.
There is no denying the fact, though, that the BCCI will need to get approval from the Union home ministry and external affairs ministry to host a tournament in which Pakistan will be a participant.
Earlier this month, speaking to Times of India, a BCCI official had said, “Pakistan athletes were given visas to take part in the Asian Athletics Championships, but the government says that cricket’s case is a bit different, since it has an emotional connect with people from both the countries. When we approached the government with a request, we didn’t get any response from them, but we need to decide fast since we need to inform the ACC soon.”
The Supreme Court appointed Committee of Administrators (COA) had reportedly even discussed the possibility of hosting the tournament in another country.
