ACC T20 is over but what about Asia Cup?

The Afghans won the ACCT20 on Sunday at the Tribhuvan University Stadium beating Hong Kong. This is their 3rd title in as many times the tournament has been held (though the first time joint winners). The Afghans have been doing everything right in cricket but does it really matter. First they started with the dream run of qualifying to the World Cricket League Division 5 and from there qualifying to the World Cup(WC) Qualifiers, missing the World Cup spot by a whisker, nevertheless gaining the ODI status. They won the Inter Continental Trophy as well as Asian Games silver. It cannot get better than this. Adding to this the Afghans have proved that they are a cut above the rest by winning all ACC Tournaments they have been playing.

So the question arises if this team should not be playing in the Asia Cup. Surprisingly the big four of Asia say no. The Asia Cup has been known to give a chance to the Asian Associates irrespective of their position at the World Level. Even when Bangladesh was not a top Associate they still got to play the Asia Cup several times. They were pathetic but still the teams never had any problems. Then the Asia Cup became more considerate by including the top 2 Associates for 2 years. And both times, UAE and HK made the final cut. But come 2010, the format has suddenly changed.

The 2007 WC Experience has brought a doomsday for the Associates. Though India and Pakistan lost against weaker teams, complacency was given as a factor and no due credit was given to the winning nations. In 2010,the Asia Cup was reduced to 4 participating nations stripping the participation of the 2 associates nations citing time constraints as an excuse. With the act following, the Asia Cup 2012 again has only 4 top Asian nations battling it out.

ACC garners most of its funds from the Asia Cup and the ICC Development fund. The top 4 nations just get a participating fee. With the BCCI becoming more and more arrogant over time, meant the participating fee seemed too small. Having a 6-nation tournament seemed improbable and ACC could do nothing but accept it with a heavy heart in order to get their share of money from the Cup.The money factor seems to be looming large in the future tour programmes of the Associate nations. Bangladesh and Zimbabwe get about 7.5% share of the funding which is about 7 times more than what Ireland and Afghanistan manage. Its a sad state that the former 2 prefer matches against top teams and belittle the latter 2.

How should ACC react in such a situation? The answer is very simple. The ACC should consider making the Asia Cup a T20 tournament. This should solve most of their problems.

1. It is easy to squeeze in busy schedules of India, Pakistan or Sri Lanka since T20 takes less times2. T20 gives possibility of higher incomes3. More teams can be adjusted in the tournament4. The tournament gives ACC a chance to expand the game into more nations hence widening the possible income stream5. Less wear and tear for the players

The Asia Cup should be a 8 team tournament with top 4 Associates joining the 4 test nations. T20 games can be more competitive with more chances of an upset which makes the whole thing interesting. The tournament should have 2 pools of 4 each followed by semifinals and finals.

After the present tournament the line would have been

Pool A:- India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, NepalPool B:- Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Oman

This would mean both Afghanistan and Nepal have a chance to prove a point against Bangladesh and the Banglas cannot take it easy. Similarly a resurgent Hong Kong and Oman will have a experience they will never want to forget.The ICC was a closed house until they expanded by adding 3 Test nations. Now it is time again for expansion. Lets hope it comes soon. Fingers crossed.

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