Ravi Ashwin comes up with a solution in regards to change in Asia Cup venue, says 'it could be moved to...'

In response to the latest reports of Pakistan planning to boycott the upcoming 50-over World Cup in India if the venue for the 2023 Asia Cup is changed, ace Test spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has come up with a solution. It was during September last year when Pakistan was allotted the hosting rights of 2023 Asia Cup, but it escalated quickly after the BCCI secretary, Jay Shah got appointed as new the head of the Asia Cricket Council (ACC), and in October said that owing to the current diplomatic relations between both countries, India will not be travelling to Pakistan for the Asia Cup.

So these meant two things – either the venue will be changed or India will opt to pull out of the multi-team tournament. In both cases, Pakistan had put forward their counter response saying if either of this happens then the PCB will boycott the 50-over World Cup in India, scheduled for later part of the year. Ramiz Raja, who was earlier replaced by Najam Sethi as the PCB’s new boss, vouched for the samewhile during ACC’s latest meeting in Bahrain the past week, Sethi is believed to have echoed Raja’s words to Jay Shah and other members of the council too. A final decision on the change in Asia Cup venue will be taken in the ACC's nextmeeting in March.

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"The ACC had a constructive dialogue on the upcoming Asia Cup 2023. The Board agreed to continue discussions on operations, timelines and any other specifics with a view to ensuring the success of the tournament. An update on the matter would be taken on the next ACC Executive Board Meeting to be held in March 2023," the ACC said in its statement after the meeting.

Meanwhile, Ravi Ashwin also shared his thoughts on the same saying this tussle is nothing new, and even came up with a solution if the Asia Cup venue ischanged.

"Asia Cup was supposed to take place in Pakistan. But India has announced that if it takes place in Pakistan, then we won't be participating. If you want us to participate, then do change the venue. But we would have seen this happen many times, right? When we say Asia Cup won't go to their place, they will say that they will also not come to our place. However, I think that is not possible,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

Suggesting that Dubai should now be overlookedas the neutral venue as a lot of games have already been played there, Ashwin suggested Sri Lanka could also be looked up to as an option, and instead he’d rather be happy if this happens.

“The final call might be that the Asia Cup might be moved to Sri Lanka. This is important in lead-up to the 50-over World Cup. Many tournaments have taken place in Dubai. I would also be pleased if it is moved to Sri Lanka,” Ashwin added.