India will not travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup in 2023, raising speculations of the tournament now hosting in a neutral venue. The development occurred on the day of the BCCI's annual general meeting in Mumbai, where BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who is also the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president, suggested that next year's Asia Cup would have to be played at a different venue.
The Asia Cup 2023 will be held at a neutral venue," Shah told the media after the AGM. "I am saying this as ACC President. We [India] can't go there [to Pakistan], they can't come here. In the past also, Asia Cup has been played at a neutral venue." The new set of BCCI office bearers - the president Roger Binny, treasurer Ashish Shelar and Rajiv Shukla, who was re-elected as board vice-president - were present when Shah spoke to the media. As per the FTP, Pakistan are hosts of two major tournaments in the next three years - the 2023 Asia Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy - and India are the hosts of the 2023 ODI World Cup.
India and Pakistan have not participated in a bilateral series since 2013. In fact, the last time that India travelled to Pakistan was for a bilateral series way back in 2006 for three Test Matches and five ODIs. While Pakistan won the Test Series 1-0, the Rahul Dravid led India team decimated Pakistan 4-1 in the ODI series.
