Asia Cup 2023 India vs Pakistan Reserve Day: Venkatesh Prasad slams ACC's 'malicious' plan as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh coaches accuse continental body of partiality

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Asia Cup 2023 India vs Pakistan Reserve Day: The head coaches of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have voiced their concerns over the Asian Cricket Council's (ACC) decision to exclusively allot a reserve day for the India versus Pakistan match in the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup.

The coaches said their teams were not given such privilege and were not consulted about the decision. India-Pakistan encounter, scheduled on Sunday (September 10), will be played on Monday (September 11) in case rain plays spoilsport.

Chris Silverwood of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh's Chandika Hathurusingha were dissatisfied with the decision to keep a reserve day only for the India-Pakistan Super 4 stage match. They say this gives an unfair advantage to the said teams. Shaheen Afridi to marry Shahid Afridi's daughter Ansha for second time after Asia Cup 2023, reason revealed

The coaches of the two concerned teams were surprised and annoyed at this decision. They said their teams would have also liked to have a reserve day. The decision, according to them, seemed unilateral and lacked their input.

During the pre-match press conference ahead of their Super 4 match against Sri Lanka on Saturday (September 8), the Bangladeshi coach said, "There is a technical committee (in Asia Cup) represented by every participating country - 6 nations. They might have decided it for some other reason."

"It is not ideal, and we also would have liked to have an extra day... "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," Hathurasingha said.

The Sri Lanka coach opined that the reserve day might give an unfair advantage to India or Pakistan if they secure points on that particular day. Both coaches believe this could adversely influence the competition's outcome.

"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.

Venkatesh Prasad criticises organisers for mocking fairplay

Former India cricketer Venkatesh Prasad also termed the ACC's decision as an absolute shame and slammed the organisers for making a mockery of the tournament.

"If true this is absolute shamelessness this. The organisers have made a mockery and it is unethical to have a tournament with rules being different for the other two teams. In the name of justice, will only be fair if it is abandoned on the first day, may it rain harder on the second day and these malicious plans not succeed," wrote Prasad on X, formerly known as Twitter while responding to a fan's comment.

The controversy over the exclusive reserve day for the India-Pakistan match in the Asia Cup 2023 underscores the need for better communication and consensus in sports governance. Regardless, fans worldwide are keenly awaiting the tournament's outcome.