The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) decided to shift the U-19 Asia Cup from Bengaluru to Kuala Lumpur after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) refused to send its team to India, reported PTI. PCB had previously called for the tournament to be moved to a neutral venue, citing security fears in India.
Owing to the political tension between both the countries, PCB chairman Najam Sethi raised objections, which was unanimously agreed and the tournament was moved out of India.
According to sources, BCCI secretary Amitabh Choudhary didn’t object to the shifting of venue as well.
“The matter of shifting the tournament to Malaysia was amicably agreed by all participants in the development and executive committees, since no one wanted it marred by security considerations of any member,” said Sethi to ‘ESPNcricinfo’.
The BCCI had already written to the Indian government, seeking clearance to host the event as it would include a team from Pakistan.
The tournament will feature eight teams, with four - Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka - qualifying automatically.