The proposal has been sent to the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) by PCB chairman Najam Sethi. Now, before taking a call, ACC President Jay Shah, who is also the BCCI secretary, will evaluate the proposal over the next two days. However, India cannot rule out a “boycott” because the BCCI has been insistent on shifting the entire tournament.

What are PCB’s proposals?

Proposal 1: India plays at a neutral venue, while Pakistan hosts all games. 

Proposal 2: India plays all of their games in a neutral location in the second phase of the tournament, with Pakistan hosting the first round. A neutral location will also be used for the final.

“I have not seen the proposal. But there has been no change in our stance. We want the tournament to be played at a neutral venue and not the UAE. We can’t risk any more injuries with the kind of heat there. Sri Lanka is best suited for the tournament. As of now, we have not discussed anything about boycotting it. Let’s first understand the situation and then we will take a call,”

a senior BCCI official told InsideSport.

It is important to note that PCB’s “hybrid” model had been rejected by BCCI. All things being equal, BCCI requested the whole scene to be moved to an impartial setting, ideally Sri Lanka. Bangladesh Cricket Board supported PCB’s decision, while Sri Lanka Cricket supported BCCI’s claims. Additionally, the PCB threatened to cancel the bilateral Test series between Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

However, the BCCI’s stubbornness is gradually losing support. According to GeoTV, Pakistan have gotten backing from SLC and BCB on the crossover model. Afghanistan stayed nonpartisan yet as PCB assisted them with a two-sided series in the UAE last month, all things considered, Pakistan will have their help.

In the meantime, BCCI has stayed resolute on a nonpartisan setting. India will never visit Pakistan, even for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, according to the BCCI. PCB has turned to cricket diplomacy after its World Cup boycott threats failed.

Dubai
Abu Dhabi
Colombo
Hambantota
Pallekele
Dambulla
Dhaka/Mirpur
London
Birmingham
Manchester

The Pakistan Cricket Board has proposed aforementioned cities to host the India matches, Super 4 round and the final of Asia Cup.
Pakistan vs Nepal and all group matches involving…

— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) May 16, 2023

ACC has now called an emergency meeting to discuss the two proposals this week. At the end of the month, a final decision on that is anticipated. Notwithstanding, BCCI is firm in its choice, “Neutral venue”.

“See, all 5 nations need to be on the same page for this to go ahead. We want the tournament to be shifted out entirely and that is for everyone’s safety considering the political tension in Pakistan. We will know more this week when we meet other stakeholders,”

the BCCI official told InsideSport.

Pakistan threatened to boycott the tournament following the BCCI’s rejection of the initial hybrid model proposal. Instead, PCB began discussing the possibility of a tri-nation series in the event that neither Pakistan nor the Asia Cup takes place.