The Asian Cricket Council board meeting is set to happen in Dubai today. In this meeting, the Pakistan Cricket Board is looking to gain more and more matches of the Asia Cup to be hosted in their country. After all stakeholders, including the PCB and BCCI, agreed to the hybrid model, the ACC declared last month that four matches would take place in Pakistan, while nine matches would be held in Sri Lanka. The Asia Cup is scheduled to be held from August 31 to September 17.
The hybrid model was put forward as a solution because the BCCI had made it clear that they would not send their team to Pakistan due to the tense relations between the two countries. The newly appointed PCB chief Zaka Ashraf has expressed his intentions to the officials of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) member boards present during the recent ICC meetings in Durban.
‘Pakistan will take the stance at the ACC meeting that with a rainy weather forecast for venues in Sri Lanka which is to host nine games of the Asia Cup, Pakistan should be allowed to host more than four games at home,” said a PCB source.
The ACC meeting will be held to work out the final schedule of the Asia Cup. The concept of a hybrid model was suggested by Najam Sethi, the chairman of the dissolved cricket management committee of the PCB, and it received approval from ACC members including India. If the reports are to be believed, the clash between India and Pakistan will happen in Dambulla, Sri Lanka.
The source says that Zaka Ashraf wants to utilize the other venues as well apart from Lahore. He tends to have some matches in Multan as well.
”The authorities in charge have expressed their desire to commence the event with a match between Pakistan and Nepal in Multan where they expect a bigger crowd compared to Lahore,” he added.
