Asia Cup 2023 Schedule: Sri Lanka Venues Reason For Delay in Announcement by ACC

Mumbai: The ICC announced the ODI World Cup 2023 schedule last week amid much speculation and controversy over venues. On the other hand, the Asia Cup, which is set to take place before the WC, is yet to announce the schedule. So why is there an unnecessary delay? As per a report on InsideSport, Colombo as a venue is the problem as it rains there during this time of the year. As per the same report, Colombo was hoping to host India-Pakistan, but that may not happen now.

“There are some last-minute details to go over. The tentative schedule has been shared with the members. It should be out by this week. Colombo is an issue due to the monsoon season. We would have ideally hoped for the India vs Pakistan match in Colombo but rain could be an issue,” a BCCI official told InsideSport.

As per the hybrid model which would be in place during the Asia Cup, the first four matches would be held in Pakistan’s Lahore and then the caravan would shift to Sri Lanka where the remainder of the tournament will be played. The tournament begins on August 31 with the final on September 17 in Sri Lanka.

Pakistan Cricket Board’s soon-to-be chairman Zaka Ashraf did a complete ‘volte-face’ by accepting the four matches awarded to the original hosts.

The Hybrid Model by virtue of which Asia Cup will be co-hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka will have India playing all their games, including two against the arch-rivals in the island nation.

The model was proposed by Ashraf’s predecessor and bete noire Najam Sethi and the banker, who will take over the reins of PCB on June 27 had “rejected” the idea during a media conference.