Asia Cup 2023 schedule confirmed: India to face Pakistan in Sri Lanka, BCCI rules out travel to Pakistan
New Delhi, July 12: The much-anticipated Asia Cup matches between India and Pakistan will take place in Sri Lanka, as confirmed by BCCI's Arun Dhumal on Wednesday. The Indian team, led by Rohit Sharma, will not be traveling to Pakistan. Dhumal, currently in Durban for the ICC Chief Executives' Meet (CEC), revealed that BCCI secretary Jay Shah and PCB representative head Zaka Ashraf met to finalize the schedule ahead of the ICC Board meeting scheduled for Thursday.
"Our secretary met PCB head Zaka Ashraf, and the Asia Cup schedule was finalized as discussed earlier. There will be four league stage games in Pakistan, followed by nine games in Sri Lanka, including both India versus Pakistan matches and a potential third game if both teams reach the final," Dhumal informed PTI from Durban.
He dismissed reports emerging from the Pakistani media claiming that India would travel to Pakistan, contradicting the claims made by their sports minister Ehsan Mazari in certain quarters.
"No such discussion took place. Neither India nor our secretary is traveling to Pakistan, contrary to the surfaced reports. Only the schedule was finalized," clarified Dhumal.
It is highly likely that India will face Pakistan in Sri Lanka's Dambulla, similar to the 2010 edition of the tournament. Pakistan's only home match will be against minnows Nepal in their own country.
- With inputs from agencies
