The venue of the 2023 Asia Cup continues to be part of a heated debate. Initially, the continental event was to take place entirely in Pakistan, but then the Asian Cricket Council, headed by BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, decided on a hybrid model. Except for four games, all other games will be played in Sri Lanka. However, the rain played a spoilsport in the games. In the first match between India and Pakistan at Pallekele, not a single ball could be bowled in the second innings after Pakistan dismissed India for 266.
After the match, Najam Sethi, former chief of the Pakistan Cricket Board, posted on X (formerly Twitter): “BCCI/ACC today informed PCB that they had decided to move the next India-Pak match from Colombo to Hambantota due to rain forecasts. Within an hour they changed their minds and announced Colombo as the venue. What’s going on? Is India afraid to play and lose to Pakistan. Look at the rain forecast!”
BCCI/ACC informed PCB today that they had decided to move the next India-Pak match from Colombo to Hambantota due to rain forecasts. Within an hour they changed their mind and announced Colombo as the location. What is happening? Is India afraid to play and lose to Pakistan? Look… pic.twitter.com/8LXJnzoXNf
— Najam Sethi (@najamsethi) September 5, 2023
“I don’t know what Najam Sethi is smoking these days. I don’t know how he says they are the favourites, otherwise India won’t want to play against Pakistan,” Harbhajan Singh told Sports Today.
“Please give him the whole record where India has beaten them more times when they have played against each other. This is something baseless for him with the kind of stature he has for Pakistani cricket right now.”
“He says India doesn’t want to play against Pakistan because India is afraid. India is never afraid to play against anyone. I don’t know where this comes from. They had to sit with the Asian Cricket Council and see where the tournament is going.” being held.
“Whether the weather forecast was right or not. Boss, come play with us wherever you want, we’ll beat you.”
The Pakistan Cricket Board on Wednesday demanded compensation from the Asian Cricket Council for the loss of gate money it suffered as a result of Asia Cup matches being held in Sri Lanka.
Although the PCB has not issued an official statement on this, some media here have reported that the chairman of the board, Zaka Ashraf, has sent a formal letter to the president of the ACC, Jay Shah, demanding compensation.
Ashraf has expressed his disappointment with the way the scheduling of the games in Sri Lanka has been handled by the ACC.
Without naming names, the PCB chief also asked who was responsible for the last-minute decisions to change locations without confiding in the other ACC board members.
Ashraf’s letter also mentions a meeting between some members of the ACC, including those from Sri Lanka and Pakistan, after the India-Nepal battle.
“At the meeting it was agreed that as Hambantota was predicted to remain dry, the matches in Colombo should be moved there,” Ashraf writes.
With PTI inputs
Topics mentioned in this article
