If the Asia Cup goes ahead as per schedule this year, Sri Lanka could get a chance to host the tournament. On Friday, Pakistan Cricket Board chief Ehsan Mani said they have offered Sri Lanka Cricket to swap the event. A final decision will be taken by the Asian Cricket Council board in due course of time.
As per the original ACC policy, the official hosting rights for this year’s tournament are with the PCB, but with the Board of Control for Cricket in India refusing to send its players to Pakistan, there was a possibility the tournament could have been played at a neutral venue.
There was a possibility of moving the tournament to the United Arab Emirates. But now as the world grapples with the coronavirus, that is out of consideraton.
“We discussed the matter at the last ACC meeting and I spoke to Sri Lanka because we were uncertain about the situation in the UAE and Sri Lanka conveyed that the situation is much better there. So, we have asked for more details from Sri Lanka,” Mani told Sportstar .
He clarified that it is still not ‘100 per cent confirmed’ that the island would host the tournament. “This event is for the benefit of all the Asian countries - the small countries. We want to make sure that they receive money from it,” Mani said.
READ|
On Friday, the PCB’s Board of Governors had a meeting in Lahore, where Mani apprised the members on the matter.
He also confirmed to the members that he had been approached by ICC directors for the ICC chairman’s role, but he reiterated his commitment to Pakistan cricket.
The PCB chief also said he has raised the visa issues for Pakistan cricket teams for the upcoming ICC events in India. “Our women cricketers were to play in India last year, but we did not get visa. But beyond that, I don’t want to say anything about it at the moment,” Mani said.
A few days ago, PCB CEO Wasim Khan had told the media that the board has asked ICC to ensure that there are no problems in attaining the Indian visa for the tournaments in 2021 and 2023.
Mani also updated the members on his meeting with PCB patron Imran Khan and the discussions around legislation on criminalising corruption in sports.
ALSO READ|
He has submitted a draft proposal to the patron, which “provides a short background on the menace of corruption and its impact on the integrity of sports; reviews the existing legislation enacted within Pakistan whilst noting that the same fail to adequately target and address corruption/illegal manipulation in sports.”
The draft proposal also “recommends the inclusion of certain provisions which, specifically target criminalisation of corruption in sports pertaining to corruption, illegal manipulation, betting, match and spot-fixing as well as aiding and abetting such conduct; and proposes the penalties to be imposed on individuals found guilty of engaging in such offences.”
Comments
SHARE