Asia Cup of controversies and one-upmanship

Najam Sethi and Jay Shah's verbal spats make it hard to imagine India and Pakistan co-hosted two World Cups

FORATOURNAMENT considered to be a dress rehearsal for the World Cup, the ongoing Asia Cup is making news for what's happening off the field rather than on it. Whatever the likes of Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Haris Rauf have done, they have been upstaged by Najam Sethi and BCCI secretary Jay Shah.

Their verbal spats, played out through official statements and on social media, make it difficult to imagine that India and Pakistan co-hosted two World Cups (it would have been three but for the 2009 Lahore attack on the Sri Lankan team bus). A visit by either team across the border is now fraught with uncertainty - India flatly refuses to go to Pakistan, citing, among other things, security concerns-while the Pakistan prime minister had to set up a high-level committee to help decide whether their team will visit India for the World Cup.

However, both parties know that India-Pakistan matches are the hottest cake in the cricket bakery. With bilateral series ruled out for the foreseeable future, there is every attempt to milk this cash cow as much as possible.

There are limits to the extent that can be done in ICC multilateral events, but in the Asia Cup, the member boards (read BCCI) can call the shots. Hence, the provision of two guaranteed IndiaPakistan fixtures, with a third on the cards if both teams make the final.