Fate of Asia Cup hangs in the balance ahead of ACC meeting

The fate of the Asia Cup is expected to be decided as the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) general council meets in Dhaka today.

The meeting will be chaired by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi who is also a federal minister.

It is highly expected that the dates and venues for the eight-team event, which is expected to be held in September in Dubai, will be decided in the 27-nation sitting.

The plus point is that the BCCI will also attend this meeting virtually with vice-president Rajeev Shukla joining though video link.

India has the hosting rights of the continental T20 big showpiece which will also provide the eight top nations the opportunity to prepare for the World Cup to be held early next year.

There were initially uncertainties about the attendance of India and Sri Lanka who are two of the five full members of the ACC.

Reports suggest that Afghanistan and Oman will also attend as previously there were also doubts about their attendance. As per rules the member nations either can attend it physically or virtually.

Bangladesh media say that the CEO-level meeting among the member nations took place on Wednesday. A dinner party was also held at the Intercontinental Hotel.

Besides the ACC high-ups, members of Bangladesh and Pakistan cricket teams were also invited, a report says.

The ACC members are also expected to witness the third and final T20I between Bangladesh and Pakistan scheduled at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Thursday (today).

This is the first time that Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is hosting such a high-level meeting. BCCI and Sri Lanka had previously shown reservations over the venue and schedule of the meeting and they wanted a change but eventually some positive signals were received from the important member states which paved the way that some constructive development will be made in the meeting.

Initially there were reports while quoting sources that the ACC Executive members were putting pressure on the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief Aminul Islam asking him why he agreed to host the meeting when BCCI was against it.

Aminul Islam has made it clear that BCB is only providing logistical support to the ACC.

“We agreed with the ACC to organize this year’s AGM,” Aminul said on Tuesday.

“It is an ACC program. We are providing them with logistical support. That’s all we are doing. We are in touch with the ACC who is informing us who is coming and who is not, as we have to make arrangements for airport pick-ups, hotel bookings and other support,” he said.

Aminul Islam and his Chief Executive Nizamuddin Chowdhry also received Naqvi at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Wednesday.