COLOMBO: A very popular football-related meme was widely shared on Friday. It was slightly recalibrated into a cricket one before being posted. In it, the makers mocked the organisers of the ongoing Asia Cup. "One regular day of 2023 Asia Cup," it said. "Will never happen."
This was a natural reaction as the organisers abruptly changed the playing conditions for one match, India vs Pakistan in Colombo on Sunday, in the Super Four Stage. No wonder it drew sharp criticism.
With the first India vs. Pakistan match abandoned after one innings and the threat of rain looming, the organisers have tried to ensure there is a full game. The general refrain has been that the move seemed unfair to the other teams. In fact, both teams viewed this move quite sceptically. Both Bangladesh and the Sri Lanka coaches expressed their displeasure over the move when asked about it on the eve of their match in Colombo.
Chandika Hathurusingha, Bangladesh's head coach, said he has not seen this kind of thing so far in any tournament. "I haven't seen this kind of thing; changing rules in the middle of the tournament." The former Sri Lanka player confirmed that the Bangladesh team was not consulted before arriving at the decision. "We haven't spoken about that (decision) because once you have made a decision, you don't have much to say after that. If we had been consulted before, we would have our comments but because it is already made I don't have any concerns and we just need to get on with what we have been asked to do.
Hathurusingha added it would have been ideal if every team would have got an extra day. "I am sure there is a technical committee represented by the six participating countries, so they must have decided it for some other reason. Yes, It's not ideal, we would love to have an extra day. Other than that I don't have much comments on that as they have made a decision."
His Sri Lankan counterpart, Chris Silverwood, admitted he was surprised when he learnt about it. "Little surprised when I first heard, but at the same time we are not the organisers of the competition so not a lot we can do about that. To be honest, it will be a problem if the reserve day then provides points to the teams and not someone else, but nothing we can do about so we keep preparing and do the best we can," he opined.
As per the original schedule, only the final, scheduled on September 17, had a rest day. Now, the India vs Pakistan, slated for Sunday, can be resumed on Monday (September 11), if needed. The PCB officially communicated this decision on Friday morning.
"A reserve day has been incorporated for the Super11 Asia Cup 2023 Super 4’s match between Pakistan vs India scheduled to take place on 10th September 2023 at R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo," said an official statement from the PCB.
"If adverse weather suspends play during the Pakistan vs India game, the match will continue on 11th September 2023 from the point it was suspended. In such an eventuality, ticket-holders are advised to hold on to their match tickets which will remain valid and will be utilised for the reserve day," added the release.
The move might have rubbed two other teams the wrong way but PCB said the Asian Cricket Council has to relent as it decided to host matches in Colombo despite a serious rain threat and being warned about it. "The PCB has raised objections with regard to the scheduling of the Asia Cup matches in Colombo despite the rain threat. The forecast is not good and there are chances of rain even during the India-Pakistan Super Four clash on September 10. This insistence from the PCB forced the Asian Cricket Council to include a reserve day for that September 10 match," the PCB insider keeping track on developments told this daily.
"This reserve day arrangement is only for the India-Pakistan match. All the participating boards have agreed for this making it easy for the ACC to arrive at the conclusion," added the source. High ticket prices for India-Pak clash
The two arch-rivals not only have a reserve day for their Super Four clash. With the PCB, the original hosts, expecting it to be a high-demand contest, have decided not to reduce ticket prices for the fixture. The same strategy was adopted in the Pallekele leg as well initially but poor demand forced the organisers to slash the prices. It, however, failed to produce the desired results.
"Tickets for Lower Blocks 'C' and 'D' of the RPICS Colombo for the Super Four Stage of the Asia Cup will be reduced to LKR 1000 per ticket. The reduction will be applicable for the games to be played on September 9, 12, 14, and 15. However, for the game between Pakistan and India on September 10 and the finals of the tournament, the ticket prices for the respective blocks will remain at the originally set prices," said a release issued by the organisers. India may end up playing on three consecutive days
With the threat of rain in Colombo all through the week, there could be a chance that India may end up playing on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. If, as expected, their game against Pakistan spills into Monday, they will have to get on with it as their match against Sri Lanka is scheduled for Tuesday.
