Pakistan, Sri Lanka to jointly host Asia Cup cricket

COLOMBO, June 15 (Agencies): Pakistan will jointly host this year's 50-over Asia Cup tournament with Sri Lanka, organisers said Thursday, in a compromise aimed at forestalling a tit-for-tat boycott involving India.
Original hosts Pakistan will split Asia Cup matches with Sri Lanka under a new "hybrid model" for the tournament beginning on August 31, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) said on Thursday.
The move clears the way for Pakistan's participation in the subsequent 50-overs World Cup in India in October-November.
"The tournament will be hosted in a hybrid model with four matches being held in Pakistan, and the remaining nine matches being played in Sri Lanka," the ACC said in a statement.
Neighbours India and Pakistan have not met on either side's soil in a bilateral series since 2012, and only play each other in international tournaments on neutral grounds.
The Pakistan Cricket Board had threatened to boycott this year's ODI World Cup in India, which is due to start in October and its schedule awaited, if its Indian counterpart refused to play in Pakistan.
The six-nation Asia Cup will be played between August 31 and September 17, an Asian Cricket Council (ACC) statement said.
"The tournament will be hosted in a hybrid model with four matches being held in Pakistan, and the remaining nine matches being played in Sri Lanka," it added.
The release did not mention the venues for the tournament or which team will play where but it is understood that India's matches will be held in the island nation.
Oman Cricket chief and ACC vice-president Pankaj Khimji intervened to broker the compromise between the two sides, according to media reports.
India and Pakistan are bitter political rivals and the nuclear-armed nations have fought three wars since being carved out of the subcontinent's partition in 1947.
Any cricket match between India and Pakistan is one of the most watched events on the global sporting calendar.
They last played a bilateral series in 2012 and most recently faced each other during last year's T20 World Cup in Australia -- a match India won by four wickets.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is expected to announce the ODI World Cup schedule this week.
The last edition of the Asia Cup was played in the United Arab Emirates in 2022 in T20 format as a tune-up tournament for that year's T20 World Cup.
Sri Lanka are the defending champions, though the 2022 event was played in the 20-over format. The last 50-over Asia Cup was played in 2018 in the UAE, where India beat Bangladesh in a thrilling final.
The Asia Cup will feature two groups, with two teams from each group qualifying for the Super Four stage. The top two teams from the Super Four stage will then face each other in the final.
The Asia Cup will be a 50-over event as it will be used to prepare for the ODI World Cup scheduled later this year.
Pakistan, India and Nepal are in Group 1 of the Asia Cup, whereas Group 2 will feature defending champions Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
"We are delighted to announce that the Asia Cup 2023 will be held from 31st August to 17th September 2023 and will see the elite teams from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Nepal, compete in a total of 13 exciting ODI matches," the council said in a statement issued in this regard.