KARACHI: A spokesperson for the Pakistan Cricket Board expressed “disappointment” over India’s decision that it would not travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup in 2023, an announcement that has raised questions over where the tournament will now be held. 

The development occurred on the day of the BCCI’s annual general meeting in Mumbai, where BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who is also the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president, suggested next year’s Asia Cup needed to be played at a different venue. 

The ACC is yet to discuss the issue, after which a decision will be taken. 

“Disappointed and surprised,” a PCB official told Arab News via text message. 

Earlier in the day, BCCI’s Shah had said the Asia Cup 2023 should be held at a neutral venue. 

“I am saying this as ACC President,” he told media. “We [India] can’t go there [to Pakistan], they can’t come here. In the past also, Asia Cup has been played at a neutral venue.” 

In the next three years, Pakistan are hosts of two major tournaments, the 2023 Asia Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy, while India are the hosts of the 2023 ODI World Cup. After Shah’s remarks, the impact on the schedules for these tournaments remains to be seen. 

India’s last trip to Pakistan was for the 2008 Asia Cup, while Pakistan’s last visit to India was for the 2016 T20 World Cup. Due to strained political relations between the two countries, India and Pakistan have not played any bilateral cricket since Pakistan toured India in 2012-13. 

India and Pakistan last played each other at the 2022 Asia Cup in UAE in August-September this year, and they are due to face off in the T20 World Cup in Melbourne on October 23. 

However, the possibility of India traveling to Pakistan for the first time in nearly 15 years emerged after the BCCI listed the 2023 Asia Cup in Pakistan as one of the “major/multi-national events” for the Indian men’s team in its AGM agenda note sent to state associations last week, ESPNcricinfo reported on Tuesday.