The upcoming Asia Cup T20 tournament is set to be hosted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with a formal announcement expected soon, sources in the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) told PTI on Thursday.
The decision followed the ACC’s Annual General Meeting in Dhaka, where all 25 member nations participated either physically or virtually. BCCI was represented virtually by its vice-president Rajeev Shukla.
“The BCCI will host the Asia Cup in the UAE. India is likely to play all its matches in Dubai. There are still deliberations on scheduling,” an ACC source told PTI.
The tournament, expected to last just over two weeks, will be held in September and must conclude before the final week to avoid clashing with India’s Test series against the West Indies.
Commenting on the development, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said, “Our vice-president Rajeev Shukla ji attended the ACC meeting. He will brief the members. I don’t believe in speculations, so you will get to know officially in a few days’ time.”
When asked about a potential India vs Pakistan clash, ACC chairman and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) head Mohsin Naqvi remained tight-lipped, saying, “We will announce it shortly. We have had discussions with the BCCI and there are a few issues that we will resolve shortly.”
It has also emerged that only two of the 10 items on the meeting’s agenda were discussed, reportedly due to pressure from the BCCI.