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New Delhi: India, which is vying with Pakistan in almost all sports disciplines at the ongoing South Asian Games in Dhaka, will also take on the rival neighbours in cricket soon, though again at a neutral venue in the Asia Cup from June 15 to 25.
According to sources in the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), the tournament is likely to be hosted most likely in Sri Lanka. Apart from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Bangladesh is the fourth team in the tournament. When the tournament was last played in Karachi in 2008, the Lankans had defeated India in the final by 100 runs.
India last played Pakistan in the Champions Trophy last year in Centurion. The ACC has reportedly been forced to consider Sri Lanka as a possible venue as the broadcasters and sponsors rejected first choice Malaysia due to weather concerns.
However, sources also maintained that the final call on the venue is yet to be taken. "It's a toss up between Sri Lanka and Malaysia," an ACC official told TOI on Wednesday.
"Malaysia was a front runner but as the broadcasters didn't show interest in having the event in Malaysia, we have changed our plans," ACC president Ejaz Butt was quoted as saying recently.
Incidentally, Asia Cup will be clashing with the football World Cup and it will be held right after the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies. However, ACC doesn't seem too bothered about the timing. "It a championships involving the best in Asia and we are confident it will generate enough excitement," the ACC official added.
In the backdrop of Pakistani players being snubbed in the recently held IPL auction, the proposed meeting of the neighbours in Asia Cup will certainly generate excitement.
However, It's still too early to talk about the possibility of a bilateral series in near future. "As of now, there is no question of having a bilateral series between India and Pakistan. We don't know what will happen tomorrow. We hope the relationship between the two countries improve, which is very important for cricket," a BCCI official said.
