The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) President and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi is reportedly working on a plan to shift the upcoming Asia Cup matches from India to the UAE in a bid to avoid cancellation amid the India-Pakistan stand-off. Ever since the recent military escalation, which started in early May, tensions between the two neighbours have been at their peak. India will be the official host of this tournament, but given the grim political climate, a cloud of uncertainty looms over the future of the tournament. 

To ensure the tournament proceeds as planned, the ACC President is exploring alternatives for a neutral venue where both India and Pakistan can face off. For the moment, the UAE appears to be a viable option and is in contention to host the upcoming Asia Cup tournament. Should the need arise, Sri Lanka is also being considered as a backup venue.

See also: Pakistan cricket at risk of ₹220 crore loss over India’s Asia Cup exit: Reports

ACC officials hopeful that the tournament will go as planned 

As per the latest reports from Forbes, a final decision on the venue change will be made at the ICC’s Annual General Meeting in Singapore next month. India's participation in the Asia Cup has been open to debate following the Pahalgam terror attacks that claimed the lives of 26 civilians. India accused Pakistan of sponsoring terrorism and launched a counter-offensive dubbed "Operation Sindoor" to avenge the loss of innocent civilians.  

Since then, the diplomatic relationship between the two countries has hit rock bottom, thus fueling the possibility of India withdrawing from the tournament. But fortunately, such notions have been put to rest by the BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia. In his recent interaction with Sportstar, Saikia denied claims of India opting out of the tournament and insisted that a call has not been taken on this matter so far.

“Such news is devoid of any truth as till now, BCCI has not even discussed or taken any such steps regarding the ensuing ACC events, let alone writing anything to the ACC (Asian Cricket Council). At this stage, our prime focus is on the ongoing IPL and subsequent England series, both men and women." 

The UAE has previously played host to earlier editions of the Asia Cup. Back in 2022, the tournament was staged in a T20 format in which both India and Pakistan clashed twice. It is certainly plausible that the vibe of the 2022 Asia Cup edition could repeat itself. Moreover, the ICC has also approached the UAE to stage a number of ICC events before on an emergency basis, the most recent of which was the Women's T20I World Cup last year.