Cancellation of Asia Cup to impact Pakistan's relations with Asian Bloc

The Asia Cup is set to be hosted by Pakistan, but India has declined to travel to Pakistan for the event due to political tensions between the two nations.

To resolve the issue, Pakistan proposed a hybrid model during an Asian Cricket Council meeting, in which all teams would play in Pakistan except for India, who would play in a different country. However, India has also rejected this proposal and is now pushing for the entire tournament to take place in a neutral location.

According to sources, if PCB remains firm on its position regarding the hybrid model, then Asia Cup might not be able to take place this year, and PCB is prepared for it.

"If Asia Cup is cancelled after the ACC chairman summons an Executive Board meeting, the ramifications will not just be Pakistan's World Cup participation but also PCB's FTP calendar and bilateral relations with Sri Lanka, Afghanistan or Bangladesh. "The situation is still very fluid," an ACC source said.

According to sources, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has refused the idea of hosting the Asia Cup entirely in a different country. It has been reported that the cricket boards of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh made an informal effort to persuade Pakistan to have the tournament in a neutral location, but their attempt was unsuccessful.

Sources further added that during an informal discussion among ACC members regarding hosting the tournament at a neutral venue, it was revealed that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) did support BCCI's proposal.