World Cup 2023: India’s rejection to visit Pakistan for the Asia Cup 2023, according to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi, will have an impact on upcoming ICC events in the region. On the rumored scheduling of the India vs Pakistan Men’s ICC ODI World Cup 2023 clash at Narendra Modi Stadium, Sethi has alleged the political angle and hence raised the question over Ahmedabad as the venue of the much-awaited fixture.
Sethi sees India’s refusal to visit Pakistan as a precedent for the 50-over World Cup in India later this year and the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan. PCB chief has proposed a new hybrid structure of hosting for the Asia Cup 2023 in exchange for moving India’s games out of Pakistan.
“We will employ the same hybrid concept for the World Cup if India now wants a neutral venue and accepts the hybrid model (for Asia Cup 2023). Pakistan is free to play its World Cup games in Dhaka or any other location that India approves of, and the same is true for its Champions Trophy games. As a result, all the other nations are welcome to play in Pakistan, but India may do so at a neutral site. So, this is a strategy that advances and breaks the political impasse,” PCB chief told The Indian Express.
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In addition, Sethi also addressed rumors that the BCCI intended to schedule the India-Pakistan World Cup match in Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.
“When I heard that the Pakistan match was to be in Ahmedabad, I smiled and said to myself – ‘this is one way to make sure we don’t come to India’. I mean if you’d said Chennai or Kolkata, it might have made sense,” he said.
“I don’t want to go into the politics of it but certainly there seems to be a political angle to this because if there’s one city where we might have security issues, it’s Ahmedabad. And therefore, I think the less said about that, the better. It gave the impression that this was a red herring that was thrown in our way to tell us, ‘hey, we are going to play you in Ahmedabad and you watch out. You know who rules Ahmedabad,'” Sethi added.
Sethi provided information about the recent Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting in Bahrain regarding the hosting of the Asia Cup in October, stating that no decision has been made thus far and that the members’ reactions to the hybrid model are still being awaited. However, he continued by stating that Pakistan would withdraw if the ACC insisted on a one-host model.
What is Hybrid Model?
All teams that are slated to play Pakistan (apart from India) play four games in Pakistan. After that, board a plane and depart for the neutral location where the remaining matches would be played.
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