Amid BCCI-PCB romance, Jay Shah blasts Najam Sethi for Asia Cup 2023 remark

There may be new hopes of India vs Pakistan bilateral series with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) top brass meeting and greeting in Lahore. But amid the renewed cross-border romance, BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who is also the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief has slammed ex-PCB chief Najam Sethi for his comments on Asia Cup 2023 scheduling.

“All the full members, media rights holders, and in-stadia rights holders were initially hesitant to commit to hosting the entire tournament in Pakistan. This reluctance stemmed from concerns related to the security and economic situation prevailing in the country,” Jay Shah said in a lengthy statement.

What’s the crux of the matter?

Pakistan was the original host of Asia Cup 2023. But as BCCI refused to send India Cricket Team to Pakistan due to poor diplomatic ties, then-PCB chief Najam Sethi, who stepped down last month with Zaka Ashraf taking charge in July, said that it was Jay Shah who is responsible for the Asia Cup 2023 scheduling mess. However, BCCI cited extreme heat in UAE shooting down the idea.

I pleaded for three approvals in various meetings with Jay Shah and ACC colleagues:
Play all matches in Pakistan as international cricket had fully returned to Pakistan.
When this was shot down
I proposed that we play five matches in Pakistan and eight in the UAE.
This also they…
— Najam Sethi (@najamsethi) September 4, 2023

“The Asia Cup 2022 edition was played in the UAE in the T20 format. It’s important to emphasize that the dynamics of a T20 tournament cannot be directly compared to those of a 100-over One-day format. In this context, ACC members received feedback from their respective high-performance teams, expressing concerns about playing One-day matches in the UAE in the month of September. Such a schedule could have potentially led to player fatigue and an increased risk of injuries, particularly right before the all-important ICC Cricket World Cup,” Jay Shah said.

With further negotiations, Sethi proposed a hybrid model including Sri Lanka as the other host. While the BCCI wanted the entire Asia Cup 2023 to be shifted to Sri Lanka, when the PCB threatened to boycott, ACC agreed to give four matches to Pakistan.

In this arrangement, Pakistan got four games while Sri Lanka would host all other matches including two India vs Pakistan clashes apart from the Asia Cup 2023 final.

Then, the Pakistan Cricket Board underwent a change again. Zaka Ashraf took charge and tried to convince ACC once again. But it did not work out.

Rain spoils Asia Cup 2023 party

India vs Pakistan high-voltage clash ended up with no result. India vs Nepal clash was also curtailed due to rain in Pallekele. With rain predictions in Colombo and Pallekele both, Najam Sethi held Jay Shah responsible for the Asia Cup 2023 Scheduling mess. Now, Jay Shah has hit back.

“In my capacity as ACC President, I was committed to finding a viable and mutually agreeable solution. To this end, I had accepted the hybrid model that was proposed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in collaboration with the ACC management. However, it’s important to note that the leadership of the PCB underwent several changes, and this resulted in some back-and-forth negotiations, particularly regarding crucial aspects such as tax exemption and insurance for matches,” he added.

Cricket Asia Cup