A day after Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Najam Sethi claimed that the president of the Asian Cricket Council Jay Shah unilaterally decided the cricketing calendar, the sub-continent body has dismissed those allegations outright.
The ACC in a statement issued on Friday said that the calendar released by Shah on Thursday was done so after it was approved in a meeting held on December 13.
“It has come to our knowledge that PCB Chairman Mr. Najam Sethi has made a comment on the ACC President unilaterally taking the decision on finalising the calendar and announcing the same. The ACC wants to clarify that it has followed established due process. The calendar was approved by its Development Committee and Finance & Marketing Committee in a meeting held on December 13th, 2022,” ACC said in a statement.
Official media statement in response to @najamsethi 's comments on the ACC 2023-2024 calendar and pathway structure: https://t.co/mBXpeNOXYb
— AsianCricketCouncil (@ACCMedia1) January 6, 2023
The ACC which is headed by Shah, who also happens to be the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), further said in the statement that the proposed structure that includes emerging players tournament and calendar was communicated to the PCB as well. It is understood that the ACC’s proposals were sent to all the member units and there was no return communication from PCB’s end. It may be noted here that over the past month, the PCB has been undergoing changes in its leadership with Sethi replacing former captain Rameez Raja as the new chairman.
“The calendar was then communicated to all the participating members individually, including Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), via an email dated December 22nd, 2022. While responses were received from certain Member Boards, no comments or suggested modifications were received from PCB.
“In view of the above, Mr. Sethi’s comments on a social media platform are baseless and are vehemently denied by the ACC,” the statement read.
The difference in opinion between PCB and Shah is not new. A few months ago, Shah had revealed that the 2023 edition of the Asia Cup could be played in a neutral venue as India can’t tour Pakistan. It subsequently led to Raja threatening to pull out of the ICC 50-over World Cup which India is scheduled to host in October-November.
And even when Shah announced the calendar, it had no mention of the venues. As things stand the ACC hasn’t shifted the Asia Cup out of Pakistan, which was last held in the country in 2008. Since then Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have hosted the event and the UAE has also played host as a neutral venue twice. In 2018, when India was scheduled to host the Asia Cup but with the Central government not giving clearance for the Pakistan team to travel across the border, the BCCI moved it to Dubai.
The BCCI wants the same to be done this time as well. But PCB believes there is no reason to play the tournament in a neutral venue citing security concerns as Australia, England, New Zealand and West Indies have all toured Pakistan in recent times.
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Asian Cricket Council rejects Pakistan Cricket Board’s claim about unilateral decisions by Jay Shah – The Indian Express
