ACC to go ahead with AGM; clarity likely on Asia Cup

The impasse over the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meet appears to have been resolved, as the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the ACC in Dhaka now set to go ahead, as planned. The key stakeholders (all Test playing nations) - the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) - seem to have reached at some kind of an understanding on several issues, including on the contentious Asia Cup.

Whether or not there will be a formal announcement on the continental championship, clarity is expected after the meeting on Thursday (July 24) - with the chances of the event taking place now higher than not. The reserved window for the tournament is from September 10 to 28.

Several ACC members are believed to have arrived in the Bangladesh capital, including Mohsin Naqvi and PSL CEO Salman Naseer. It is being suggested that members of the Afghan Board are scheduled to arrive too. The AGM is scheduled to begin at 2 PM local time in Dhaka.

There had been uncertainty over the quorum for the meeting, but that now appears to be resolved, with the required numbers seemingly in place. The big question, however, is whether the BCCI will attend. It is understood that some members could join the meeting online, and one of them could be the BCCI.

Apart from the venue, there were differences over the AGM's agenda, which, until Wednesday evening, had not been formally circulated among the members. However, it is understood that a compromise has been reached on this front as well.

An election for the vice-president of the ACC was scheduled and it has been learned that the election has been deferred. Mumbashir Usmani of UAE (Emirates Cricket Board) and Mahinda Vallipuram of Malaysia are in the fray.

Meanwhile BCB interim head Aminul Islam chose to stay away from the controversy. "The ACC is an organisation that operates with five full members from Asia and 25 associate countries. The ACC asked us whether we wanted to host the AGM and we agreed to it. This is an ACC programme, and we will only provide logistical support."

The former Bangladesh international further said, "We are in touch with the ACC, who is informing us who is coming and who is not, as we have to make arrangements for airport pick-ups, hotel bookings and other support."

Asked whether holding the ACC meeting without India and Sri Lanka would cause any issues in cricket geopolitics for Bangladesh, the BCB president insisted it won't affect the relationship. "I don't think so. Hosting the AGM without India and Sri Lanka will not have an impact on our relationship with these countries as far as cricketing ties are concerned. Cricket is above all. We are just the hosts. We have never hosted before. We will try to make it a good AGM."

(With inputs from Atif Azam in Dhaka)