Change In Asia Cup Schedule To Accommodate IPL Not Acceptable: PCB
The Chief Executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board Wasim Khan has dismissed all rumors around IPL 13 being given preference over upcoming Asia Cup 2022 that is scheduled in September this year.
Talking to a news channel, the PCB Chief made it pretty clear that the only reason why Asia Cup might be delayed is the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
“Our stance is absolutely clear, the Asia Cup is set for September and the only reason it should not take place is continued health safety issues. We will not accept that the Asia Cup is moved to accommodate the IPL,” Wasim said.
“I have heard that there is talk to move the Asia Cup to November-December but for us that is not possible. If you move the Asia Cup, you are making way for one member nation and that is not right and it will not have our support,” he added.
Earlier, the IPL 2020 was postponed indefinitely due to the countrywide lockdowns amid COVID-19 pandemic. However, the BCCI is confident that they’ll find a safer window at a later time to make the premium T20 event happen.
Meanwhile, the ICC has also played down any speculations around the ICC World T20 2020 to be delayed until 2021, but admitted that they’re “exploring all options.”
Australia will be staging the World Cup from 18th October to 15th November if the plan sticks and the tournament doesn’t have to be delayed due to the ongoing pandemic. However, we’re still not sure as to what will happen in the latter part of the year as the novel coronavirus has already put all sporting activities around the world to a halt.
After attending the virtual meeting of the ICC Chief Executives on Thursday, Wasim said that the ICC is doing whatever it can to keep schedules intact but the plans might change.
“The T20 World Cup might be played behind closed doors because if we don’t play T20 World Cup each board potentially stands to lose between 15 and 20 million dollars,” Wasim said.
As of now, the future of the cricketing events is pretty uncertain. However, one thing that the PCB Chief has taken a strict stance for is that they won’t compromise on hosting Asia Cup at its scheduled time just to accommodate the Indian Premier League. The only thing that might affect schedules is the COVID-19 pandemic.