Pakistan Cricket Board is likely to take a strong standpoint at the Asian Cricket Council meeting in Kuala Lumpur this week over hosting the Asian Emerging Nations Cup tournament this year.
According to a Pakistan Cricket Board official, Pakistan will make it clear at the meeting that if India can’t come to Pakistan to play in the Emerging Nations Cup, then Pakistan will also not be able to send its team for the Asia Cup in September in India.
“The PCB will try to convince the member boards to move the Asia Cup out of India to a third country like Malaysia or even Sri Lanka so that Pakistan can participate in it,” the official said to Hindustan Times.
Meanwhile, PCB chief Najam Sethi and chief operating officer, Subhan Ahmad are due to fly to Kuala Lumpur. Moreover, Sethi will chair the meeting as ACC President.
Sethi, further, has also decided to adopt a strong stance with India at the meeting on Monday and Tuesday.
“PCB is not happy over India’s attempts to move the Asian Emerging Nations Cup out of Pakistan on security grounds. It will adopt a tit for tat policy by insisting it can’t send its team to India for the Asia Cup in the current scenario,” the source confirmed.
ACC will finalise dates for the two tournaments and the Asia under-19 Cup to take place later this year.
However, Pakistan already acquired the rights of hosting the tournament in a meeting held in Lahore. Meanwhile, delegates from Indian and Bangladesh didn’t attend the meeting.
Later India and Bangladesh both said they would not send their teams to Lahore for the Emerging Nations Cup due to security concerns.
“But now after successfully hosting the two PSL playoffs in Lahore and the final in Karachi and then the bilateral T20 series against the West Indies, the PCB believes that India and Bangladesh have no grounds to resist having the Asian Emerging Nations Cup in Lahore,” the source added.
Meanwhile, the relation between India and Pakistan are at their lowest ebb. BCCI had refused to play any bilateral series against Pakistan since 2008.
Sethi has said he will talk with other boards at the ICC meeting in Kolkata from April 22. He will try to convince them to send their teams to Pakistan for bilateral series.
The Pakistan and Indian boards are also locked in a compensation case before the ICC disputes resolution committee. PCB demanded compensation of around $70 million for rejecting an MOU signed between the two boards in 2014. Under the MOU Pakistan and India were to play six bilateral series between 2015 and 2023.
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