Former Pakistani cricketer Salman Butt expressed his displeasure as discussions about hosting the 2023 Asia Cup in England began.

Former Pakistani cricketer Salman Butt expressed his displeasure as discussions about hosting the 2023 Asia Cup in England began. The conflict between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is nothing new. Since Pakistan was awarded the rights to host the continental championship, the BCCI has decided not to travel to Pakistan, which has created tensions between the two cricket governing bodies.

In early May, during an Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting, PCB chief Najam Sethi proposed a hybrid model for hosting the multi-nation event, which sees India play its matches in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). However, the proposal was opposed by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). Sethi then suggested the idea of ​​hosting the Asian Cup in England while speaking to an Indian media outlet.

However, Butt raised questions about England's hosting of the Asia Cup, claiming that a neutral venue would be inappropriate for a tournament meant to represent the Asian continent.

"A neutral venue like this [England] is not viable for the Asia Cup, it will not make sense as it would mean there is not a single venue in Asia to host it," said Salman Butt.

Butt argued that in the interest of providing options one can provide as many as possible, but it is important to check whether these are feasible or not.

“You can involve England and make it to the Euro-Asia Cup. You can also make this suggestion. Earlier the Austral-Asia Cup was held, in which Australia participated. You can also include Ireland and the Netherlands. It would be a World Cup-like event as there would be six teams from Asia and four countries from Europe, so it would be a ten-team tournament. "It will be the dress rehearsal for the World Cup," he said.

You can come up with as many ideas as possible, but you also have to see what is practically possible,” he added.