New Delhi: The BCCI will seek the government’s clearance to conduct the 2018 Asia Cup, involving Pakistan in India despite losing the hosting rights of the under-19 continental event due to Pakistan Cricket Board’s objections.
“We had written to the government for the U-19 Asia Cup three months ago and we did not get a response. So the event had to be shifted to Malaysia. Now for the senior event, we will again write to the government as there cannot be an Asia Cup without an India or Pakistan,” a BCCI official, who did not wish to be quoted, told this agency.
“The India-Pakistan clash in the Asia Cup is the marquee match. If that doesn’t happen, the tournament is meaningless. And let me make it clear, it is not about playing Pakistan in a bilateral event, it is a multi-team event like any ICC event,” the official added.
Despite the tensions between the two countries, India and Pakistan recently battled it out twice in the Champions Trophy in England in June. The women’s team, which reached the final of the World Cup, too played against Pakistan in the round robin stage of the tournament.
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