A deadlock between the PCB and the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has thrown the planning for the last leg of the Asia Cup into disarray.
This has caused serious consternation at the PCB, which has called for an immediate ACC meeting to resolve the issue.
Firstly, PCB officials remain concerned that the Colombo matches – including the Super Four Pakistan vs India fixture – could be affected by rain; the city has seen substantial rainfall over the last few days, leading even to flooding in areas not far from the Khettarama Stadium.
Secondly, they are incensed that the ACC appears to be taking decision unilaterally on the scheduling of a tournament the PCB is hosting. Less than an hour after the ACC sent an email to stakeholders confirming Hambantota as the new venue, the ACC sent another email that contradicted the PCB, saying that the matches would stay in Colombo.
The PCB had originally wanted the whole tournament to be played in Pakistan, but the BCCI refused this on the basis that their government would not allow the Indian team to travel to Pakistan. Much of the tournament was then shifted to Sri Lanka.
In any case, SLC chief executive Ashley de Silva told ESPNcricinfo that Colombo will “definitely” host the matches as presently scheduled. He said the idea of moving those games to Hambantota was at the discussion stage only, and that no confirmation had been given to any stakeholders that the shift was definitely happening.
However, various sources had told ESPNcricinfo that all boards (PCB, SLC, BCCI and BCB) had agreed to move the matches to Hambantota, and that only logistical hurdles remained to be overcome for such a shift to happen.
“A lot of fans had already made arrangements to watch the matches in Colombo,” de Silva offered as one reason why the remaining games would be played in Colombo as scheduled. “Also in the last few days it hasn’t been raining as much in Colombo.”
De Silva also cited Sri Lanka’s history of hosting ODIs, which it has largely done successfully despite the weather. In the last ten years, only five out of 84 men’s ODIs have failed to reach a conclusion. Of the abandoned matches, Saturday’s game was the only match to be abandoned in the month of September, which historically is not an especially wet month.
Andrew Fidel Fernando is ESPNcricinfo’s Sri Lanka correspondent. @afidelf
Source: ESPN Crickinfo