NEW DELHI: After BCCI president Saurav Ganguly late on Friday reportedly spoke about Dubai being the venue for the 2020 Asia Cup, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ehsan Mani on Saturday said no final decision in this regard had been taken yet.

The PCB holds the hosting rights for this year’s continental tournament, to be staged in September. But with India not willing to travel to Pakistan, the venue of the event currently seems uncertain.“The 2020 Asia Cup is organised for the benefit of the associate members. We will take a decision keeping that in mind. A final decision will be taken bearing in mind the interests of all the Asian countries. We have a few options,” Mani told The Indian Express.

Both Ganguly and Mani are expected to be present at the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting in Dubai on March 3. A decision on the Asia Cup venue is likely to be taken there.

Earlier, Ganguly reportedly said Dubai would be the venue for the next Asia Cup.

“The Asia Cup will be held in Dubai and both India and Pakistan will play,” the BCCI president told reporters at the Eden Gardens, as quoted by Press Trust of India. In 2018, the Asia Cup was held in Dubai and Abu Dhabi when the BCCI had the hosting rights.

And the meeting might also discuss the coronavirus outbreak vis-a-vis the ACC events. It’s not an item of the agenda, but with the outbreak getting bigger and more threatening by the day, it might come up as a secondary issue.

“Look, the Asia Cup is in September and we are in February. But if it [coronavirus outbreak] gets out of control, then we have to be prepared for any eventuality. So the matter could be discussed as a secondary issue,” Mani told the newspaper.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2020