PCB threatens to pull out of World Cup 2023 if Asia cup moves out of Pakistan

The tussle for the hosting rights of the Asia Cup 2023 between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is poised to heat up as the two cricket boards remain at odds over the tournament's location.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has threatened to withdraw from the ODI World Cup in India after the Asian Cricket Council held a meeting on the location of the 2023 Asia Cup ODI event on Saturday, news agency ANI reported.

This comes after the Indian Board's secretary, Jay Shah, had stated that India will not travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup 2023, which will be held in a neutral venue. The ACC met in Bahrain to deliberate on the Asia Cup, and reports stated that the Asian Board would choose a neutral venue, however, the decision was deferred.

"PCB isn't happy with this thinking that Asia cup could be relocated to some neutral venue, name of UAE is on top of the list which might get the hosting but if it happens then Pakistan will not travel to India for ICC World Cup 2023," ANI quoted source as saying.

Following the discussion on Friday, rumours indicated that the second Executive Board meeting of ACC members in March could decide on a new location. Notably, the UAE is emerging as a strong contender to host the Asian competition. The nation had previously also hosted the Asia Cup in 2022. Despite the political unrest, Qatar has also expressed interest in hosting the competition.

After the meeting, a BCCI source told the news agency PTI, "The ACC affiliates met today and there were a lot of constructive discussions. But the shift of venue has been postponed till March. But be rest assured that with India not going to Pakistan, the tournament will have to be shifted. A tournament without Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Shubman Gill will have the sponsors back out."

This is not the first time the PCB has considered boycotting the ODI World Cup in India. Ramiz Raja, the former PCB president, explicitly declared last year that Pakistan would not visit India if they were denied the opportunity to host the Asia Cup. Team India won't be visiting Pakistan because of grounds related to security, according to the BCCI.

Despite having one of the most intense rivalries in the history of the sport, political tensions between India and Pakistan have prevented the two nations from playing any bilateral cricket since 2013. Even though they only meet at neutral sites, the two teams have continued to compete solely in significant ICC competitions.

Since their last visit to Pakistan in 2008, India has refrained from visiting the nation for security grounds. No international cricket was played in Pakistan after the fatal terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus outside the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore in 2009 because almost all teams declined to visit. This continued until 2015.

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