India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup 2023: 'May it rain harder...,' says veteran cricketer ahead of Super-4 clash

India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup 2023: A day after the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) announced the reserve day for the crucial Super Four stage match between India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup, former pacer Venkatesh Prasad slammed the council for imposing unethical rules.

The ACC on Friday said that the blockbuster India-Pakistan will have a reserve day on September 11 (Monday) in case the match gets interrupted due to rain or bad weather on September 10 (Sunday) in Colombo. The Met department in Sri Lanka has predicted that this weekend and next week are not pleasant, and there is a 90 per cent chance of rain on Sunday.

The arch-rivals, India and Pakistan, are scheduled to play on September 10 at the iconic R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The ACC has said if the match between India and Pakistan stops due to rain, on Monday, the India vs Pakistan match will begin from where it was suspended on September 10.

The other teams won't be allowed to do the same at the Super Four Stage. If play is suspended due to bad weather, they will share points.

Prasad, who played for Team India between 1994 and 2001, slammed ACC for allocating a reserve day for the India vs Pakistan clash. The former pacer said it would be unethical if the rules were different for just two teams.

He even said he hopes it rains harder on the reserve day if the game does extend to September 11.

"The organisers have made a mockery and it is unethical to have a tournament with rules being different for the other two teams. In the name of justice, will only be fair if it is abandoned the first day, may it rain harder on the second day and these malicious plans not succeed," Prasad posted on X.

The Sri Lanka Cricket board issued a separate post on the decision and said the reserve day was taken in consultation with all four member boards of the Super 4 competing teams.

"The reserve day for the India-Pakistan contest of the Super 11 Asia Cup Super 4 stage was taken in consultation with all four member boards of the Super 4 competing teams. Accordingly, the ACC effectively revised the playing conditions of the tournament to effect the agreed-upon change," Sri Lanka Cricket board wrote on X.

Replying to a post of Sri Lanka Cricket, Prasad said: "What was the pressure to agree on this unreasonable demand, when you aren’t getting a reserve day for your own matches? Why so much generosity to ensure India vs Pakistan isn’t washed out even if it costs your own team a chance to qualify?  Can you please explain truly the intent and reason to do so?"

The Bangladesh Cricket board also posted a similar message. "A reserve day for India Pakistan contest in Super 11 Asia Cup Super 4 stage has been added that effectively revised the Asia Cup playing condition. To clarify on the position, the decision was taken with the consent of all four participating teams and ACC," it said.
Replying to the post, Prasad asked why the board agreed to this unreasonable demand.

 

The Asia Cup 2023 ODI tournament is in its second phase. All teams are set to play each other in this stage. The top two teams will play the final scheduled to be held at Colombo on Sunday, September 17.

Earlier, even team coaches of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh expressed their dissent on the issue. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will play the first Super 4 match of the Colombo leg.

“There is a technical committee (in Asia Cup) represented by every participating country – 6 nations. They might have decided it for some other reason,”  Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurasingha said during the pre-match press conference ahead of their Super 4 match against Sri Lanka on Saturday.

Hinting that no move was made to take a consensual call on the issue, Hathurasingha said his team also would have liked to have a reserve day.

“It is not ideal, and we also would have liked to have an extra day,” he added.

Hathurasingha also hinted that the officials concerned did not consult other teams before arriving at the decision.

“But I don’t have any more comment on this because they have already made a decision and had they consulted us earlier we would have given our opinion,” said Hathurasingha.

Sri Lanka coach Silverwood said he was surprised when conveyed about the decision to have an extra day for the Indo-Pak match.

“Yeah! Look, obviously, I was a little surprised when I heard it first. But we don’t organise the competition, so we can’t do a whole lot about it, right?” asked Silverwood.

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