CHENNAI: Amid speculations and reports of India pulling out of upcoming Asian Cricket Council events, starting with the Emerging Women's Asia Cup, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia has said that the Indian cricket board has not discussed or taken any decision yet on the matter.
"... till now, BCCI has not even discussed or taken any such steps regarding ensuing ACC events, leave alone writing anything to the ACC. At this stage, our prime focus is on the ongoing IPL and subsequent England series, both men and women," Saikia said in a statement shared with this daily. "The Asia Cup matter or any other ACC event issue has not come up for discussion at any level, hence any news or report on that is purely speculative and imaginary. It may be said that BCCI, as and when any discussion on any ACC events takes place and any important decision is reached, same will be announced through media," Saikia added.
With the escalation of cross border tensions between India and Pakistan, a lot had happened on the cricketing front, including the suspension of the Indian Premier League for a week. Even as both countries have agreed to a ceasefire, there is no clarity on India-Pakistan games going forward. The two teams already do not play any bilaterals and only meet during multi-team tournaments organised by the ACC and the International Cricket Council. Over the next few months, multiple events are scheduled including Emerging Women's Asia Cup, the Men's T20 Asia Cup, Women's ODI World Cup and the Men's T20 World Cup. While India are either hosts or co-hosts for both ICC events, the ACC tournaments are a different scenario. The organisation is currently headed by Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the interior minister of Pakistan. While the BCCI are yet to discuss or take a call, many within the cricketing fraternity, including India men's head coach Gautam Gambhir, have said that India should not play Pakistan. Only time will tell what the BCCI decides and how the future of Asia Cup shapes up going forward.