‘No change in window for Asia Cup’, says BCCI

Indian players and support staff pose with the trophy after winning the Asia Cup Twenty20 international cricket final match against Bangladesh in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sunday, March 6, 2016. India won the Asia Cup for the sixth time after beating host Bangladesh by eight wickets on Sunday.(AP Photo/ A.M. Ahad)

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has set aside a September 2018 window to stage the Asia Cup and “this has not changed,’’ according to officials who have kept track of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting in Dubai on Monday.

There is no denying the fact, though, that the BCCI will need to get approval from the Union Home Ministry and Foreign Ministry to host a tournament in which Pakistan will be a participant.

With regard to the Asian Games 2018, the ACC seems to have agreed to certain requests from Cricket Indonesia, including financial assistance for infrastructure development.

The Olympic Council of Asia has been quite firm on India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh (full members of the ICC) fielding its full-strength teams in order to improve the profile of the Games.

It’s not known whether the OCA, this time around, will accept the entry of second-string teams. BCCI will not be able to field its national team because it will be in the midst of a five-Test series in England till the first week of September.