There is no end in sight for the Asia Cup Schedule saga. Despite the new Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) body agreeing to the hybrid model, it is now pushing for more revenue share from the Sri Lanka leg of Asia Cup 2023. PCB wants the exact revenue share the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) got from the UAE for hosting the T20 Asia Cup last year.
Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has convened a two-day meeting in Dubai on Sunday and Monday to discuss and finalise the schedule.
To note, Pakistan will only get to host 4 games despite being the original hosts. Sri Lanka will host 9 matches besides the final and two India vs Pakistan games in Dambulla. Especially, the two IND vs PAK games will ensure the most revenue and PCB wants to ensure it gets the bigger chunk.
“It has already been finalised that Pakistan will only host Asia Cup matches as a host nation while the rest of the event will be held in Sri Lanka. The important thing is how much Pakistan gets as revenue to host remaining matches in Sri Lanka,” a PCB source told The News, Pakistan.
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Why is it taking so long for Asia Cup Schedule?
- PCB wants the schedule to be reworked.
- Currently, Pakistan will only get 4 games including just one home game.
- With rain expected in Sri Lanka, Pakistan wants to host more than 4 games to avoid washouts.
- Furthermore, Pakistan also wants a bigger chunk of revenue share from Sri Lanka leg of matches.
- If the matches were to be held in UAE, PCB would have earned more.
- As Sri Lanka hosts 9 matches, PCB wants to ensure they get at par with what BCCI got from Asia Cup last year in the UAE.
- PCB officials are meeting with ACC officials in Dubai on Sunday and Monday.
If UAE had hosted the 2nd leg, PCB would earn more from gate money, hoardings and marketing ventures. However, all other nations shot down the idea due to the heat in the country during September.
“In Sri Lanka, it is hard to generate an extra amount. We have to reach some understanding with the ACC to ensure that we would get the revenues we are looking at. That is to generate the same revenues that India generated from hosting the Asia Cup last year in Dubai,” the source explained.
This is not the first time PCB has raised this concern. Even when Najam Sethi was the PCB chairman, he held talks with ACC President Jay Shah and other ACC members. But the talks did not result in a concrete agreement.
Apart from the revenue share, PCB also wants to host more games. As per the current agreement, Pakistan will only get 4 games while 9 others will be in Sri Lanka. But with rain likely to impact matches in Sri Lanka, Pakistan wants more games. A discussion will also take place on this.
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