A reserve day has been added to the India vs Pakistan Super Four game of the Asia Cup on September 10. It is the only match apart from the final to have a reserve day. The change to the playing conditions was announced by PCB, advising spectators to hold on to their tickets should a reserve day be required.
For both the matches with the provision for a reserve day, efforts will be made to complete the match on the original day even if it means shortening the contest. If the reserve day is triggered, the duration of the contest will remain the same as on the last ball of day one.
Rain had forced a washout in Pallekele when the two teams first faced each other in this Asia Cup. Rain then returned in India's first international match against Nepal, at the same venue, but it wasn't as persistent on the day, allowing India a 23-over chase, which they aced to qualify for the Super Four.
The late decision to add a reserve day for only the India-Pakistan match in the Super Four round didn't go down too well with Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusinghe
"I haven't seen this kind of thing in another tournament, this changing rules in the middle of the tournament," he said at a press conference. "I am sure there is a technical committee that has representations from every participating countries. They must have decided for some other reason. Yes, it is not ideal. We would love to have an extra day also. Other than that, I don't have much to comment because they have made a decision.
"Once you have made a decision, we don't have much say. If we were consulted before, we would have a comment. Since it is already made, I don't have any concern. We just get on with what we are asked to do."
Sri Lanka coach Chris Silverwood said he was surprised at the decision.
"It's a little surprise when I first heard," he said. "But we don't organise the competition, so there's nothing much we can do about that. I only see it becoming a problem if the reserve day provides points for someone else and affects us or someone else. There's nothing we can do about it. We get on with preparing, and do the best that we can."
With rains also forecast in Colombo for the next week, the PCB, the official hosts of the tournament, was on board with plans to move the Colombo matches to Hambantota. But eventually the ACC sent an email to the stakeholders stating that the matches were to be played in Colombo as originally scheduled.
The PCB agreed to the decision reluctantly but not without sending a letter to ACC president Jay Shah protesting the decision-making process. It was during these discussions that the PCB first raised the prospect of adding a reserve day for this game, worried about the implications of a second India-Pakistan game being washed out in a tournament of which they are officially the hosts.
A rain threat hangs over the India vs Pakistan match on Sunday, too, with up to 90% chance of precipitation. If the weather clears up, India's bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah could return to action after having missed the Nepal fixture for the birth of his child.
Bumrah, who had just returned from a long-standing back injury, is yet to bowl in an ODI in the lead-up to the World Cup next month. He made his ODI comeback last week in the Pakistan game, but didn't get a chance to bowl since rain prevented Pakistan from starting their innings.