The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) are at a standoff over the teams playing Asia Cup 2023 at a neutral venue and not in Pakistan. The conflict started days before the Men in Blue took on Babar Azam and co at the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.

Pakistan was given the hosting rights of the 2023 edition of the 50-over Asia Cup by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). Jay Shah, the president of ACC and the Secretary of BCCI, said that the tournament will be held at a neutral venue days before the India-Pakistan game.

While Shah didn’t give a concrete reason, his statement added fuel to the already strained political relationship between the two countries. He further added that India travelling to Pakistan in the future will be the government’s call.

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India hasn’t travelled to Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup. A bilateral series in early 2009 was cancelled after the Mumbai terror attack. After the Sri Lankan team bus was ambushed on way for a match at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on 3 March 2009, no international team has visited the country for more than a decade due to security reasons.

Pakistan travelled to India in 2012. Post that the teams have not played bilateral cricket. They have only played each other in ICC and ACC events.

The Pakistan Cricket Board reacted to Jay Shah’s statement by threatening that the team might boycott the 2023 ODI World Cup scheduled to take place in India.

“The PCB is now prepared to take hard decisions and play hard ball,” a senior source told PTI.

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Newly appointed BCCI President Roger Binny said that the BCCI can’t take a call on its own on whether the Indian team will travel to Pakistan for the 2023 Asia Cup or not as it relies on the government to make such decisions.

However, with PCB Chief Ramiz Raja, former BCCI President Anurag Thakur and many other officials getting involved, the October 23 game and any other possible match at this T20 World Cup in Australia might be the last the two teams play for the foreseeable future.

While the boards and ICC would lose money, fans will lose a lot of thrilling action.

India vs Pakistan games, generally held on Sundays, are watched by people worldwide. This year, the World Cup match created a new viewership record on the streaming app Disney+ Hotstar as over 1.8 crore people tuned in to watch.

The game was worth all the hype. Virat Kohli played his best knock yet, Haris Rauf was on fire, Arshdeep picked early wickets and Iftikhar Ahmed entertained fans with some big hits. The result was decided on the last ball.

In Asia Cup 2022, Hardik Pandya’s quickfire 33 took India home in their opener against Pakistan. In the Super 4 stage, Pakistan bounced back to knock Rohit Sharma-led India out of the tournament.

The 2021 T20 World Cup, played in the UAE, witnessed Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan taking apart the Indian bowling attack in a 10-wicket win. They won the Champions Trophy in 2017 by beating India in the final.

Unlike the Sharjah days, India-Pakistan matches are very thrilling and closely contested. The two sides have some superstars, especially in the young crop – Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and many more – taking over.

It is sad for the fans that a battle between cricket boards potentially puts the entire cricketing thrill at risk.