BCCI bluntly, said- Team India will not play Asia Cup in Pakistan

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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made it clear that it has no problem with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) hosting the Asia Cup but the Indian team will not tour Pakistan. The BCCI said that the level of the Asia Cup should be neutral, because going to Pakistan at this time is not an option.

The Asia Cup is to be played this year, which is considered to be important for the preparations for the T20 World Cup to be held in Australia this year. A senior BCCI official has said that there is no issue of hosting and it is just a matter of playing at a neutral venue, as the Indian team will not tour Pakistan.

The official said, ‘The question is not whether the PCB is hosting. It is a matter of venue of the tournament. Right now things are like this, it is clear that we need a neutral venue. There is no possibility that India will also go to Pakistan to participate in the Multi Nation tournament. If the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is happy that the Asia Cup is without India, then it is a different thing. But if India has to be a part of the Asia Cup then it is important that the tournament is not held in Pakistan.

The Asia Cup was to be held in India in 2018, but Pakistani players had a visa problem and that is why the Asia Cup was held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and hosted by the BCCI. The official said that PCB can do the same. He said, ‘Neutral locations are always an option. The BCCI did this in 2018. In 2009, terrorists attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team bus in Pakistan, since then there was no international cricket in Pakistan, but recently Sri Lanka toured Pakistan and currently Bangladesh is also on tour.

However, the issue of India and Pakistan is even more. Due to the political relations between the two countries, it is a situation that India cannot in any condition presently visit Pakistan.