Asia Cup 2023: Former PCB Chief Najam Sethi Takes A Dig At Jay Shah After Rain Plays Spoilsport In India-Pakistan Marquee Clash
Published - 05 Sep 2023, 01:29 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 09:46 AM
Former PCB Chief Najam Sethi has lashed out at BCCI Secretary Jay Shah for scheduling Asia Cup matches in Sri Lanka despite the forecast of rain. The India-Pakistan match on September 2 was washed out due to rain with the teams sharing a point each.
A match like India-Pakistan called off due to rain impacted the broadcast revenues of the tournament. The Pakistan cricket team would also see that as an opportunity missed to beat India after they had bowled them out for 266. The in-form Pakistan top and middle-order would have backed themselves to win the match.
In a thread of tweets, Najam Sethi has hit out at Jay Shah who also leads the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and also expressed his disappointment at the selection of venues for Asia Cup 2023.
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???
In his tweet, Sethi wrote that he requested the BCCI not to schedule matches in Sri Lanka knowing the rain forecast. However, the BCCI was adamant about not travelling to Pakistan for the tournament. Amid threats of pulling out, the BCCI also ignored UAE as a possible venue for the tournament. The ACC finally zeroed in on Sri Lanka to play their games despite knowing the rain threat.
Only Jay Shah Can Explain Why Sri Lanka Was Chosen As A Venue: Najam Sethi
???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 rejected and hinted at giving the Asia Cup hosting rights to Sri Lanka if we didn???t budge,??? Sethi wrote on X.
???Finally, after we said we might not participate, they scheduled four matches in Pakistan and posted the rest in Sri Lanka. We repeatedly pointed out that the rains forecast in SL would adversely impact match results and diminish crowds at stadiums. We also argued that gate receipts from UAE stadiums would be many times more than those in SL given economic considerations,??? he added.
???When Mr Shah didn???t agree, a high level delegation of the Emirates Cricket Board flew to Mumbai to persuade BCCI to play the Asia Cup in UAE as in the past when two IPLs and one ACC ODI event was played there in the same weather conditions. BCCI refused to accept their request. Only Mr Shah can explain why these options were rejected and why Sri Lanka was accommodated against all reason, logic, and rationality. The choice of venues in Sri Lanka was also problematic as we have seen,??? he further added.
Meanwhile, India and Pakistan have both advanced through to the Super 4s and will face each other for the second time in this tournament on September 10. As per reports in Indian Express, the Super 4 matches will be played in Hambantota with rain threat looming large in Colombo over the next week.
Tagged:
Asia Cup 2023 Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Jay Shah Najam Sethi Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)
