Cricket-Pakistan warn tit-for-tat reaction v India if Asia Cup shifts

LAHORE, Pakistan : Shifting the 2023 Asia Cup out of Pakistan because of India's refusal to tour the country may prompt similar tit-for-tat reaction from the Pakistan Cricket Board, the PCB said on Wednesday.

Secretary of the Indian board Jay Shah, who also heads the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), said on Tuesday India would not travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup, and that the tournament itself would be shifted to a neutral venue.

The PCB said Shah's "unilaterally" made statement was issued "without any thoughts towards their long-term consequences and implications".

"The overall impact of such statements have the potential to split the Asian and international cricketing communities, and can impact Pakistan's visit to India for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 and future ICC events in India in the 2024-2031 cycle," it said in a statement.

The ACC, which runs the Asia Cup, and tournament host PCB were not aware of any discussion regarding a rescheduling of the tournament, the Pakistan board said.

"The PCB has to date not received any official communication from the ACC on the statement of the ACC President," it said.

"As such, the PCB has written to the Asian Cricket Council to convene an emergency meeting of its Board as soon as practically possible on this important and sensitive matter."

Thanks to their soured political relations, bilateral cricket remains suspended between India and Pakistan who play each other only in multi-team tournaments.

The arch-rivals are set to clash in a sold out Twenty20 World Cup blockbuster in Melbourne on Sunday.