The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will press for more matches of the Asia Cup in Pakistan, as part of the hybrid model, when the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) board meets in Dubai on Sunday.
Following the acceptance of the hybrid model by all stakeholders, including the PCB and BCCI, the ACC announced last month that four matches will be held in Pakistan and nine in Sri Lanka with the event to held from August 31 to September 17.
However, PCB chairman-designate Zaka Ashraf, who was not in charge when the Asia Cup dates were announced, has made his intentions clear to the ACC member board officials who were present in Durban for the ICC meetings earlier this week.
There is also talk that Pakistan is now pushing for more revenue share from the Sri Lanka leg of the Asia Cup.
“Pakistan will take the stance at the ACC meeting that with a rainy weather forecast for venues in Sri Lanka which is to host nine games of the Asia Cup, Pakistan should be allowed to host more than four games at home,” said a PCB source.
The ACC is meeting to finalise the schedule for the Asia Cup. The hybrid model was proposed by Najam Sethi, the chairman of the dissolved management committee of the PCB, and accepted by all the ACC members.
But Ashraf now wants more matches so that the PCB can use other venues as well, including Multan. Lahore was initially supposed to host the four matches. The two India-Pakistan matches are likely to be held in Dambulla.
Pak pin hopes on Shaheen
Galle: Sri Lanka were in contention for the World Test Championship final until March. That prospect has whetted their appetite to get there in the new cycle. Their campaign starts on Sunday, when Sri Lanka host Pakistan in Galle in the first of two Tests.
“We had a pretty good campaign in the last World Test Championship and at one point we had a chance to make it to the final,” Sri Lanka skipper Dimuth Karunaratne said. “We would have liked to finish things off better but our last series in New Zealand didn’t go the way we want. But this is a new opportunity and we are looking forward for the challenge.”
Left-arm quick Shaheen Afridi returns after a year out of the Test side due to a knee injury, and the visitors are pinning their hopes on him.
When these teams met last year, Afridi claimed four wickets in the first innings but suffered a serious right knee ligament injury. “Very pleased with the return of Shaheen Afridi,” Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said.
AP/PTI
