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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has finally clarified the position taken by its chairman Najam Sethi regarding staging Asia Cup 2023 at a ‘neutral’ venue instead of host country Pakistan.
Referring to the media talk in Rawalpindi/Islamabad on Thursday, Mr Najam Sethi said he had briefed the media on the hybrid model he had presented to the ACC officials for the ACC Asia Cup to end the impasse that had been created following the BCCI’s decision to not send its team to Pakistan.
“This proposal - to play India’s matches at a neutral venue and the rest in Pakistan - is under discussions within the ACC. At no stage during Thursday’s media interaction, did I give any reference to the ICC or made any remarks on the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, which is scheduled in October. This matter has not been mooted or discussed at any ICC forum so far," PCB chief said.
Pakistan had proposed a hybrid model to save Asia Cup 2023. With India refusing to visit Pakistan, PCB chief Najam Sethi proposed a neutral venue for India to play their games. In that case, Pakistan would have hosted other nations as per scheduled. However, no final decision has been taken yet.
“In this background, the PCB is disappointed that a leading English language newspaper has misquoted, misinterpreted and misrepresented Mr Sethi’s comments and gave the impression that PCB’s hybrid model was presented and discussed at the ICC, which is factually incorrect. At this stage, the PCB is only in discussions with the ACC over the hosting of the ACC Asia Cup and no discussions regarding the World Cup have taken place with the ICC," PCB stated.
“This is not to say that the hybrid model will not be advocated at the proper ICC forum at the right time," PCB added.
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