DUBAI – In an unprecedented move, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) onTuesday tweaked its already announced schedule of the ongoing Asia Cup —apparently to please India, the host of the tournament in the United ArabEmirates (UAE).The ACC has released a revised schedule for the Super Four stage, as allfour teams have been finalised.

According to the Super Four schedule announced following Hong Kong’smarginal loss, India will now play all the matches in Dubai regardless ofthe other teams’ position in their respective groups.Not only have India been given an A1 status before their decider matchagainst Pakistan, but the ACC has also assumed that Afghanistan andBangladesh will be B1 and B2, respectively.

However, the latter two are yet to play each other in their group matchafter both won against Sri Lanka.According to the Super Four schedule, India and Pakistan will playBangladesh and Afghanistan, respectively, on Friday to kick off the super4stage. Initially, however, it was A1 vs B2 and A2 vs B1 in Dubai and AbuDhabi, respectively.

Revised schedule for Super Four stage of Asia Cup. This means Bangladesh,who play Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, would be travelling to Dubaito face off India on Friday.

Pakistan, on the other hand, would fly to Abu Dhabi on Thursday to playAfghanistan the next day, return to Dubai on Saturday to play India thenext day, and travel back to Abu Dhabi to play Bangladesh on Wednesday.If they qualify for final, they would have to fly back to Dubai on Thursdayto participate in the final on Friday.

The bottom of the official tournament fixture schedule, according to areport in The National newspaper of the UAE, reads: “Note: On qualifyingfor Super 4, the host board [India] will play as Group A – Qualifier 1.”Even if that is to be considered, how can position in group B be decidedbefore Afghanistan plays Bangladesh?

It is noteworthy that an initial schedule, which was also available on theofficial website of the International Cricket Council (ICC), mentions thegroup winners and group runner-ups in the Super Four stage.

Pakistan’s captain Sarfraz Ahmed has also questioned the scheduling of thetournament. “Travelling is an issue, so if you travel for [90 minutes]during the matches, then it’s tough,” he said ahead of the game againstIndia.“In this weather, it’s tough, and then after one day, you play another game.I think it should be even for all the teams whether it is India or Pakistan.

“If there are matches in Abu Dhabi, then every team has to play there. Idon’t know what the Asian Cricket Council has done about it,” he had said.It is now up to the ACC to clarify the position on the scheduling of thetournament.— APP/AFP