India refuses to host Asia Cup over Pakistan’s participation

NEW DELHI: India has refused to host the Asia Cup scheduled for September 2018, reports in the country’s media said on Monday.

The decision by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was made because of the reluctance to host Pakistan and was taken during the board’s Governing Body meeting. The BCCI has informed the Asian Cricket Council of its decision.

Earlier, the BCCI released the Indian team’s schedule for the next four years which did not include a series with Pakistan. However, according to reports in the India media, the BCCI will make space for a bilateral series against Pakistan if approved by the government.

India also lost hosting the Under-19 Asia Cup, also over the country’s reluctance to host Pakistan’s junior side.

The Indian government has not given a green signal to Indo-Pak bilateral series since the last one was held in India in 2012. Since then, the two neighbours have only met in ICC events.

Last month, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) filed a dispute with the ICC, claiming up to $70 million for missed series in 2014 and 2015 from BCCI after the country failed to attend two series as part of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the two boards.

The PCB sent a legal notice to ICC to set up a Dispute Resolution Committee for adjudicating the matter of Indian cricket board not honouring its promise of playing bilateral series with Pakistan.