BCCI to Pull Out of Asia Cup, Report

New Delhi: Following the escalating tension between India and Pakistan, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have decided to pull out of all tournaments organised by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).

According to a report in The Indian Express, the BCCI has already informed the ACC about its decision to withdraw from the Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup, scheduled to be held next month in Sri Lanka, and from the Men’s Asia Cup, scheduled for September, where India is the host nation.

One of the key reasons behind the move is that the ACC is currently headed by Mohsin Naqvi, who is not only the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, but also the Interior Minister in the Pakistan government. “The Indian team can’t play in a tournament that is organised by the ACC whose chief is a Pakistan minister. That’s the sentiment of the nation. We have verbally communicated to ACC about our withdrawal from the upcoming Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup, and our future participation in their events too is on hold. We are in constant touch with the Indian government,” a BCCI source told the national daily.

BCCI’s move also left a question mark on the Asia Cup tournament, where India are the hosts. In fact, the report added that the Indian board is aware that the tournament is not feasible without the presence of Team India and that the event will barely have any significance without an India-Pakistan game.

In 2024, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) secured a US$ 170 million deal for media rights for the next eight years for the Asia Cup. In case the tournament gets cancelled, Sony will have to rework the deal.

This is not the first time the Asia Cup has incurred an India-Pakistan issue. In 2023, the BCCI had refused to send the Indian team to Pakistan and hence, a neutral venue, Sri Lanka, was picked to stage all of India’s matches. The same hybrid model was even adopted for the Champions Trophy earlier this year, where Dubai held all of India’s games despite Pakistan being the host nation. In both instances, India reached the final and hence the summit clash was played outside Pakistan.