Asia Cup 2023: Sri Lanka and Bangladesh Coaches ‘Unhappy’ About Reserve Day Only for India vs Pakistan – News18

Sri Lanka coach Chris Silverwood and his Bangladesh counterpart Chandika Hathurasingha were not happy about

the India-Pakistan Super Four stage match in the Asia Cup having a reserve day.

India and Pakistan had met in the league stage at Pallekele last week, but it was abandoned due to persistent rain and if rain affects the highly-anticipated game again, scheduled for September 10 in Colombo, a reserve day has been organised.

“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.

“If adverse weather suspends play during the Pak 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,” said an official statement from the tournament.

However, the other matches will not have a reserve day though rain is predicted in the Sri Lankan capital through the Super 4s.

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Hathurasingha said he was not aware of the reason behind the sudden change in Asia Cup playing conditions.

“There is a technical committee (in Asia Cup) represented by every participating country 6 nations. They might have decided it for some other reason,” the Bangladesh coach said during the pre-match press conference ahead of their Super 4 match against Sri Lanka on Saturday.

Hinting that no move was made to take a consensual call on the issue, Hathurasingha said his team also would have liked to have a reserve day.

“It is not ideal, and we also would have liked to have an extra day,” he added.

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Hathurasingha also hinted that the officials concerned did not consult other teams before arriving at the decision.

“But I don’t have any more comment on this because they have already made a decision and had they consulted us earlier we would have given our opinion,” said Hathurasingha.

Silverwood said he was surprised when conveyed about the decision to have an extra day for the Indo-Pak match.

“Yeah! Look, obviously, I was a little surprised when I heard it first. But we don’t organise the competition, so we can’t do a whole lot about it, right?” asked Silverwood.

The Lankan coach also said the reserve day could give a bit of an unfair advantage to either India or Pakistan if they manage to log in points on that particular day.

“To be honest, I see it only becoming a problem if it provides points to the teams, and affects us,” said Silverwood.

(With inputs from Agencies)