Asia Cup 2023: The entire controversy explained

Asia Cup 2023 has been embroiled in controversy for a few months now. Organised by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), the tournament, as the name suggests, features cricket teams from Asia taking part.

It was held for the first time in 1984, while the most recent edition took place in 2022. Apart from 2016 and 2022, which were played in the T20 format, all other editions have been held in the ODI format.

Team India are the most successful side in the Asia Cup, having won the title seven times, while Sri Lanka have won it six times. The Lankans are also the defending champions in the tournament. They won the 2022 edition by beating Pakistan by 23 runs in the final in Dubai.

The 2023 Asia Cup will be the 16th edition of the tournament, which will be played from August 31 to September 17. The games will be held in Sri Lanka and Pakistan in a hybrid model.

Apart from Sri Lanka and Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Nepal are the four other teams taking part in the upcoming edition.

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Why is Asia Cup 2023 being played in a hybrid model?

The Asia Cup 2023 controversy began in October last year when BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who is also the ACC President, made it clear that India will not travel to Pakistan for the tournament and will instead push for a neutral venue. The Pakistan Cricket Board retaliated and threatened to skip the ODI World Cup to be played in India later in the year.

Later, though, former PCB chief Najam Sethi, who recently stepped down from the post, proposed a hybrid model as per which India could play its Asia Cup 2023 games at a neutral venue. After initial reports that the hybrid model was likely to be rejected, the ACC accepted the modification earlier this month.

As per the new arrangement for the event, four games will be played in Pakistan and nine in Sri Lanka. An ACC release confirmed:

"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 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.”

According to reports, Lahore will host the games that will be played in Pakistan, while the games to be played in Sri Lanka will be in Kandy and Pallekele.

The six teams taking part in Asia Cup 2023 have been divided into two groups. India, Pakistan and Nepal are in Group A, while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are in Group B.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the Super Four round, which will be followed by the final, to be contested by the top two teams from the Super Four.

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Has Zaka Ashraf rejected hybrid model for Asia Cup 2023?

Just when it seemed that the path for conducting the Asia Cup 2023 was free of any roadblocks, reports emerged that Zaka Ashraf, who's set to become the new PCB chairman, rejected the hybrid model put in place by his predecessor Sethi.

Media reports on June 21 quoted Ashraf as saying about the hybrid model:

"In my personal opinion, this whole hybrid model isn't beneficial for Pakistan, and I didn't like it. Being a host, Pakistan should have negotiated better to make sure that the entire tournament should have played in Pakistan. Sri Lanka taking the bigger lot of games, leaving Pakistan with only four games, isn't in the best interest of our country."

Ashraf, though, issued a clarification to ESPNcricinfo later and confirmed that he would not oppose the hybrid model for the Asia Cup:

"I see the decision has been made, so we have to go with it. I will not block or have any intention not to comply with the decision. I cannot do much about it but to honour the commitment. But going forward, every decision we make will be made for and in the interest of the country."

Earlier, at the press conference, Ashraf admitted that there are issues related to the 2023 World Cup in India that need to be sorted out.

According to reports, the ICC and the BCCI are unlikely to accept PCB’s request to swap venues for two of their group-stage games in the Cricket World Cup 2023 - against Afghanistan in Chennai and Australia in Bengaluru.