Sri Lanka’s head coach, Chris Silverwood, and Bangladesh’s head coach, Chandika Hathurusingha, expressed their discontent with the Asian Cricket Council’s decision regarding the reserve day allocation in the Asia Cup 2023 terming it ‘unfair advantage’. The ACC had announced that only the India vs Pakistan Super 4 stage match, slated for September 10 in Colombo, would have a reserve day on September 11 in case of weather interruptions.
Pakistan and India are given unfair advantage, say SLC and BCB
Both coaches raised concerns about this decision during their respective pre-match press conferences ahead of the Super 4 match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Hathurusingha remarked that the decision might have been made by the technical committee, representing all six participating nations, possibly for reasons not disclosed. He hinted at the lack of a consensual approach in deciding the reserve day allocation and mentioned that his team would have also appreciated having a reserve day.
“It’s not ideal that only India and Pakistan have a reserve day for their match,” he noted, expressing his disappointment with the unequal treatment of teams.
Hathurusingha further suggested that the concerned officials did not consult with other teams before finalizing this decision, emphasizing that they would have appreciated the opportunity to share their opinions if approached earlier.
Sri Lanka’s coach, Chris Silverwood, admitted his surprise upon learning of the decision to provide an extra day for the India-Pakistan match. He acknowledged that they were not responsible for organizing the competition and thus had limited influence over such decisions.
Silverwood also pointed out a potential issue with the reserve day: if it leads to points being awarded to either India or Pakistan, it could create an unfair advantage in the tournament, affecting other teams’ standings.
“To be honest, I see it only becoming a problem if it provides points to the teams and affects us,” Silverwood concluded, highlighting the potential consequences of this decision on the overall dynamics of the Asia Cup.
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