Ahead of the Asia Cup 2023, a notable detail caught the attention of cricket fans as Pakistan unveiled their new jerseys for the tournament. The jerseys displayed the Asia Cup logo without the host country’s name, sparking curiosity and discussions across social media platforms.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has now provided clarification regarding this unique choice. According to PCB sources, the absence of Pakistan’s logo on the Asia Cup jerseys was a result of a collective decision made by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) during the previous Asia Cup. The ACC had unanimously decided not to include the host country’s name on the jerseys, and a similar decision was taken to exclude the year along with the host country’s name.
This decision stemmed from the fact that the jerseys for the previous Asia Cup had featured references to “Sri Lanka 2022” and “UAE 2022,” creating inconsistencies among the various logos.
“As previously discussed, we made a deliberate decision during the last Asia Cup not to include the year and host name in the tournament logo. This was due to the presence of multiple logos circulating, one featuring Sri Lanka 2022, another with UAE 2022, and one with only the year 2022. Our aim was to ensure consistency in our approach for a more effective logo outreach,” explained an official from PCB.
The decision led to the absence of the host country’s name on this year’s jerseys as well. The PCB emphasized that the approach taken this time was intended to maintain uniformity and clarity in the tournament’s logo outreach. The jerseys had already been printed by the teams with the year and host name when the change was implemented.
Elaborating on the tournament nomenclature, the PCB official stated, “Nevertheless, it’s important to mention that the tournament’s nomenclature will follow the format of ‘Gender-Format-Tournament Name-Year, City, Country.’ As an example, for matches held in Multan, the stadium branding will read: ‘Men’s ODI Asia Cup 2023 – Multan, Pakistan’.”
While the PCB’s explanation sheds light on the decision-making process, it’s worth noting that the absence of Pakistan’s name on the jerseys, specifically in relation to its host status, had sparked a wave of criticism from passionate Pakistan cricket fans. The clarification offers insight into the thought process behind the unique jersey design for the Asia Cup 2023.