File image of a cricket match between India and Pakistan.©AFP
Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Najam Sethi has informed his ICC counterpart Greg Barclay of his concerns about playing the World Cup match against arch-rival India at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, according to sources. As initially reported by PTI, PCB wants its matches to be scheduled in Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru. Barclay and ICC General Manager Geoff Allardice were recently in Karachi to assure the PCB boss that they will not demand to play their ODI World Cup matches at a neutral venue as ACC is ready to reverse its demand to play Asia Cup based on ‘Hybrid model’.
According to a senior PCB source, “Sethi has informed Barclay and Allardice that Pakistan does not want the matches to be scheduled in Ahmedabad unless it is a knockout match like a final.” “He requested that ICC schedule their matches in Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata if the national team gets permission from the Government of Pakistan to travel to India for the global event scheduled for October and November,” the source added.
While the Pakistani board is concerned about the safety of its players when they face India in Ahmedabad, it should be noted that the leader of Inzamam ul Haq played at the Motera during his 2005 tour to India.
The PCB official also said that Sethi has asked ICC officials to convince BCCI to accept the Pakistan hybrid model for the Asia Cup, which is unlikely to see the light of day.
He also confirmed that Sethi had also insisted that it would not accept the new revenue-sharing model unless its share was increased in the new five-year cycle.
“Sethi pointed out that it was unfair that Pakistan would get a smaller share of ICC revenue in the new cycle compared to Australia and England,” the source said.
“Sethi argued that Australia and England regularly play bilateral series with India and their players also participate in the Indian Premier League, which means additional revenue for the two boards of IPL management,” he added.
BCCI and ICC officials currently in London for the World Test Championship finals are expected to finalize the schedule and venues for the World Cup in the coming days before distributing it to member/participating nations.
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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