In June 2020, following a meeting with the Asian Cricket Council
(ACC), the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said they would be willing
to let Sri Lanka host the 2020 Asia Cup, with India unwilling to travel to
Pakistan. The ACC issued a press release following the meeting stating
that "in light of the impact and consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic,
possible locale options for the Asia Cup 2020 were discussed and it was decided
to take the final decision in due course". In July 2020, an official
announcement of the postponement was made by the ACC. The 2020 edition was
rescheduled to take place in Sri Lanka in June 2021.
In March 2021, the tournament was at risk of a further
postponement after India qualified for the final of the World Test
Championship, which clashed with the proposed dates in June. The
tournament was postponed once again to 2023. In May 2021, the ACC announced
that the 2021 tournament would be deferred to 2023, citing that it would be
difficult to schedule the tournament due to the continued impact of COVID-19 on
the scheduling of other cricket events. Pakistan was scheduled to host the
2022 Asia Cup after retaining the rights to host the 2022 edition. However,
in October 2021, following a meeting with the ACC, Ramiz Raja confirmed
that Pakistan would host the tournament in 2023, with Sri Lanka hosting the
2022 edition.
In October 2022, the Board Of Control For Cricket In India (BCCI)
secretary and ACC President Jay Shah announced that India would not
travel to Pakistan, citing security concerns, and that the Asia Cup 2023 would
take place in a neutral venue. In December 2022, the then PCB
chairman Ramiz Raja said that Pakistan might consider pulling out of
the tournament if their hosting rights were withdrawn because of India's
unwillingness to travel to Pakistan. However, in January 2023, ACC
confirmed the teams and groups of the tournament, with both India and Pakistan
taking part.
In March 2023, it was proposed that Pakistan remain as hosts and
that all India matches - including at least two India-Pakistan contests - would
be played at a neutral venue yet to be confirmed. The hybrid model
proposed by Pakistan was rejected by Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In
response, PCB Chairman Najam Sethi proposed two options. The first
option was that India play all their matches at a neutral venue with Pakistan
hosting the rest of the teams. The second option was that four matches in the
group stage take place in Pakistan whereas the second phase, in which matches
played by the Indian team followed by the next stage matches including the
final, be played at a neutral venue. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh agreed to the
second option.
On 15 June 2023, the Asian Cricket Council announced
that the tournament would be organized in a hybrid model with four matches
being held in Pakistan, and the remaining nine in Sri Lanka.