New Delhi, July 19: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will “boycott” any resolution if the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Annual General Meeting (AGM) is held in Dhaka, according to a source.
The future of the Asia Cup, a six-team tournament, which will be played in T20 format, is clouded in uncertainty. India are the designated host for the tournament, and the ACC is yet to announce the schedule or the venue of the tournament. The rumour mill has pencilled September as the unofficial window for the tournament.
The meeting is scheduled to be held on July 24 in Dhaka. Due to the current situation in Bangladesh, India refused to travel for the meeting. Recently, BCCI and BCB mutually decided to defer India’s tour of Bangladesh from August 2025 to September 2026.
The ACC is headed by the PCB chairman and Pakistan’s interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi. According to the source, Naqvi is attempting to exert “unnecessary pressure” on India regarding the meeting. The source also confirmed that BCCI asked the body’s president to change the venue, but has yet to receive a response.
“Asia Cup can happen only if the meeting venue changes from Dhaka. ACC chairman Mohsin Naqvi is trying to assert unnecessary pressure on India for the meeting. We requested him to change the venue, but have received no response. BCCI will boycott any resolution if Mohsin Naqvi goes ahead with the meeting in Dhaka,” the source said.
India is the defending champion of the Asia Cup. In 2023, India refused to travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup, and Sri Lanka was picked as the neutral venue for India’s fixtures. Earlier this year, Pakistan hosted the Champions Trophy, but India declined to cross the border and played all its matches at a neutral venue in Dubai.
In May, various reports and speculations stormed social media, suggesting that India had declined to participate in this year’s Asia Cup and the Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup due to cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan.
The reports claimed that the BCCI had informed the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) of its decision to withdraw from both events — the Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup, scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka next month, and the Men’s Asia Cup, slated for September.
BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia categorically denied the claims, stating that the BCCI hasn’t engaged in such conversations or taken any steps regarding the ACC events. The BCCI secretary labelled the reports as “speculative and imaginary.” (AGENCIES)
