The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) finally agreed to the hosting of the Asia Cup at a neutral venue in Abu Dhabi in UAE, on Saturday.
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly stated earlier that the Indian team would not tour their neighbours for the Asia Cup. In fact, the Indian board threatened to pull out of the tournament.
The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) gave in to the thought of a tournament without the participation of the cricketing giant, and its financial viability.
PCB lynchpin Ehsan Mani cited ACC’s dependency for funds generated through India’s participation as the reason for the tournament being held at a neutral venue – like the last time in 2018.
“There are so many new cricket-playing nations in Asia, and they required funds for that. The organizers get the funds by hosting the Asia Cup,” said Mani while speaking to news.co.pk.
“In case India stays out, it is unlikely that the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) would generate the required funds. Thus, we have decided not to force organizers to hold the Asia Cup in Pakistan,” he added.
India has not featured in any bilateral series against Pakistan since 2012. They have only faced their neighbouring arch-rivals during multilateral ICC events and Asia Cup.
However, Mani affirmed that Pakistan does not need any external support for hosting prominent international events.
Teams like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have visited Pakistan for a full-fledged tour. Apart from these events, Pakistan is currently hosting the Pakistan Super League (PSL) featuring several international stars.
“We have been hosting international events and the PSL also. We have proved that we can host these events without any outside help,” concluded the PCB chief.
