The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has extended their invitation to BCCI Secretary Jay Shah to attend the Asia Cup 2023 opener in Multan. PCB Chief Zaka Ashraf had verbally invited his counterpart during the ICC meeting. It is unlikely that Shah, the son of the Union Home Minister, travels to Pakistan given the frosty political ties between the two countries.
The Pakistan Cricket Team will face Nepal in the first game of the Asia Cup in Multan on August 30. Besides Shah, it has also invited heads of other boards who are part of the Asian Cricket Council. PCB will host 4 games in Pakistan, and 9 games in Sri Lanka.
A well-informed source in the PCB said the invitation was sent to Shah more out of hope than any realistic expectation of him visiting Pakistan. Given the tense relations between the two countries, any member of the BCCI travelling to Pakistan is unlikely.
The Pakistani media had earlier reported that Shah accepted the PCB’s invitation. However, the BCCI secretary denied this claim.
“The PCB has basically followed up on the invitation which was extended verbally by Chairman Zaka Ashraf to Jay Shah when they both met in Durban for the ICC meeting,” the source told PTI.
“The PCB was obviously embarrassed after the Pakistani media reported that Jay Shah had accepted Zaka Ashraf’s invitation, and the Indian board official later flatly denied this,” he said.
“The idea is to basically highlight Pakistan’s chosen stance on cricket relations with India: that it does not mix politics with sports,” he added.
PCB wanted to show that it does not mix sports with politics by extending the invitation to Shah. The chosen stance was first highlighted when the Pakistani Government gave a green light for Babar Azam and Co’s participation in the 2023 World Cup. While the PM committee did raise security concerns, they allowed the team to participate in the tournament.
The Men in Green could now play India four times in the space of a month. India play Pakistan on September, followed by another Super 4 encounter on September 10. Should the teams reach the Asia Cup final, they will play again on September 17. The World Cup 2023 will see India play Pakistan in Ahmedabad on October 14.
