PCB, BCCI to meet over Asia cup dispute in February:
Pakistan Cricket Board’s new management committee head, Najam Sethi, is set to meet BCCI officials over the dispute regarding Asia cup 2023 on 4th February in Bahrain. The rift that started last year took new heights after the Indian board secretary who is also the President of Asian Cricket Council, Jay Shah’s announcement of the Asian Cricket Council’s (ACC) calendar of events for 2023 and 2024 was made. The PCB alleged it was made in a “unilateral manner”.
Earlier, PCB management committee head, Najam Sethi, asked for an emergency ACC meeting to resolve the issue. Recently, the PCB chairman announced that it will take place next month.
On Friday, while announcing the PSL-8 schedule, Najam Sethi revealed the news in a press conference about the ACC meeting,
“For some time there hasn’t been any ACC Board meeting and there were a lot of decisions being made and one of them we have challenged. Now the good news is that we managed to convince them to have their Board meeting and I will be attending it,”
This dispute started in former PCB chairman Ramiz Raja’s tenure when Jay Shah stated, after ACC’s meeting in October last year, that the Asia cup will be moved to a neutral venue as India would not travel to Pakistan. While answering the questionnaire about what approach Pakistan will opt for in the aforementioned meeting, Najam Sethi Said,
“All expected discussions and what the possible options are, I am keeping close to my chest for now. Idon’t want to hint at anything about my possible stance there. Whatever the stance is, it will be according to the interests of Pakistan.”
Responding to the possible options and pathways, Pakistan will follow if India refuses to come to Pakistan for the Asia Cup 2023, Najam Sethi said,
“We have to look at what we can do but we can’t [fight] another case, but I can say that that case wasn’t handled properly and I think we didn’t give a good fight. But eventually, even judges said that if you look through the microscope this case is in favor of Pakistan but if you see this case with a telescope this is going in India’s favor. So in nutshell, with all the nitty-gritty it’s Pakistan’s case, but then their stance was that it’s the [Indian] government which isn’t allowing us [to tour Pakistan].”
As a result of the tumultuous political relations between the two nations, the chances of cricket teams of both countries to play normally, have worsened over time. Since Pakistan’s limited-overs tour of India in 2012–13, India and Pakistan have not faced off each other in a bilateral series. The Indian men’s team hasn’t played a match in Pakistan since 2008, yet Pakistan last visited India for the 2016 T20 World Cup. Their interactions are only limited to ICC and ACC events.
