Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management committee chairman Najam Sethi confirmed that the national team will play at least two Asia Cup 2023 matches at home.
Following the Asian Cricket Council (ACC)'s announcement of accepting the PCB-proposed hybrid model for Asia Cup, fans were curious to know the schedule of the event.
According to ACC, Pakistan will host four matches before the Asian event moves to Sri Lanka for the remaining nine matches.
Since India will play their matches in Sri Lanka, Pakistan's only group match in their country could be against Nepal. The other three matches in Pakistan are likely to be played in the second group which features Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, former Test cricketer Rashid Latif tweeted that Pakistan will play two matches in Lahore.
His tweet went viral on social media, leaving fans confused about this possibility.
Now, the PCB head Sethi has also confirmed that the host country will play at least two matches at the home venue.
"Pakistan will play at least two matches at home. We are figuring this out, let's wait and watch until we finalise the schedule," he told reporters during the press conference in Lahore today.
Asia Cup, in two phases, will be played from August 31 to September 17 in 50-over format. Nepal will be playing its first-ever Asian event. This tournament will help the Asian teams prepare for the ICC World Cup in India.
Last year, BCCI refused to travel to Pakistan for Asia Cup on political grounds.
To save the event's hosting rights, PCB had offered two options in the hybrid model. In the first option, India was asked to play their matches at a neutral venue whereas all other matches were to be played in Pakistan. In another option, four matches of the group stage in the first phase were proposed to be played in Pakistan whereas second phase, in which matches of Indian team followed by the next stage matches including the final, were to be played at a neutral venue.
The second option of the hybrid model was accepted on Thursday.