Home
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Jay Shah announced the Asia Cup 2023's schedule and format on Thursday (January 5). The arch-rivals India and Pakistan are placed in the same group (Group 1) for the 2023 Asia Cup, which will be played in a 50-over format and is scheduled to be staged in September. Pakistan is the original host of the Asia Cup this year but the BCCI is not really keen on playing there given the political tension between the neighbouring nations.
Moments after the newly elected Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi took a dig at Shah for ‘unilaterally presenting’ the ACC calendar for 2023-2024. Shah released the men's and women's fixtures on Twitter, with a total of 145 matches set to be held in the 2023-24 period.
Replying to the tweet of Shah, the PCB chief poked the BCCI secretary to also present the structure and calendar of this year's Pakistan Super League.
"Thank you Jay Shah for unilaterally presenting ACC structure & calendars 2023-24 especially relating to Asia Cup 2023 for which Pakistan is the event host. While you are at it, you might as well present structure & calendar of our PSL 2023! A swift response will be appreciated," Sethi's tweet read.
In an exclusive interview with Sports Tak, the PCB chief expressed his displeasure on the way the the Asia Cup's schedule was announced without keeping PCB in loop or any consultation.
Najam on being asked why he is annoyed after Jay Shah made the Asia Cup 2023 announcement, he chuckled,"I am not annoyed rather amused. I don't think it was required. He should have consulted or discussed this with us. You have a reputed council for making such decision. There is way and process to it. Unilaterally deciding everything on your own is not welcoming for sure. He should have called and discussed it with us prior the announcement."
"It means, next time when I become the ACC president, I should also follow the same template by taking all the decisions on my own sitting on my couch without keeping anyone in the loop. What's the need of ACC then? This is not how it should be executed."
Question: Didn't the developing committee of the ACC already know about this? As per Shah, the PCB was informed about the development on December 22, 2022 via e mail.
Answer: "I don't think so. It has come as a bolt from the blue for us. PCB predecessor Ramiz Raja also expressed his displeasure on India's stance of not playing Asia Cup in Pakistan. At times you want Pakistan to come to India for Asia Cup and then you say you don't want to visit Pakistan for the marquee event. Will India continue to snub Pakistan when Champions Trophy will be played here? If this is the way you want to go, neither you should allow us nor should come to Pakistan. Politics around it should be avoided. BCCI is an independent board unlike PCB, they should take their decisions independently without involving any kind of politics in it"
Question: Don't you think the communication about the Asia Cup 2023 planning was lost in the transitional phase of PCB?
Answer: "I asked the PCB CEO Faisal Hasnain whether we were informed about any such development regarding Asia Cup 2023. To which he also denied and said we were not consulted at all neither we were asked. I cross checked with everyone before putting out the tweet to which everyone unanimously quashed any such claims."
Question: As a PCB chairman and as a cricket fan, are you happy that India and Pakistan are in same pool in Asia Cup 2023 fixture?
Answer: "The entire cricketing world waits for India-Pakistan's high voltage drama. If fact we should have two matches instead of one."
Question: Where will you stage the Asia Cup 2023 being a host?
Answer: "We want to host this in Pakistan"
Earlier, former PCB chief Ramiz Raja had threatened to boycott the 50-over World Cup, which will take place in India. Shah announced that a total of 13 matches will be played in the Asia Cup 2023, with 6 teams divided in 2 groups. The top 4 will progress to the Super 3 stage en route to the final.
The BCCI secretary also announced that the Women's T20 Asia Cup will be held in September 2024, and U19 Asia Cup tournaments in 2023 and 2024.
