PCB set to hold Asia Cup at neutral venue

The Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ehsan Mani, while talking to reporters on Friday, revealed that the upcoming Asia Cup will have to be hosted at a neutral venue.

The chairman of the PCB confirmed that Pakistan is still the host of the upcoming event while stating that he did not care about the statements made by the Board for Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

“Asia Cup will be hosted by Pakistan however the event would have to take place at a neutral venue. If we insist on hosting the event in Pakistan, the Indian team will not take part. We do not care what the BCCI says,” Mani said.

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Mani stated that no foreign player was receiving any additional monetary incentives to tour Pakistan at the moment.

“In the past, the PCB had to pay the West Indies’ players an additional sum of 25 thousand dollars in order to convince them to tour the country however no foreign player is currently receiving any additional forms of monetary incentives,” he concluded.

Earlier, the BCCI President Sourav Ganguly had claimed that the upcoming edition of Asia Cup will take place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) later this year.

While speaking to reporters at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, the BCCI President confirmed India’s participation in the tournament.

"Asia Cup will be held in Dubai and both India and Pakistan will play," Ganguly said.

BCCI also hosted the 2018 Asia Cup in UAE because of strained political relations between Pakistan and India, which made it difficult to obtain visas for the Men in Green players to play in India.

Pakistan is the designated host for the tournament scheduled for September.