Asia Cup 2023: Zaka Ashraf Opens Up On Jay Shah Not Coming For Tournament's Opening

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf opened up about Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah pulling out of his visit to Pakistan for the opening ceremony of Asia Cup 2023. He revealed that the Indian board’s secretary promised him to visit.

Jay Shah and Zaka Ashraf attended the International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting in Durban, South Africa recently. The two had a decent chat with each other and then the duo also worked together to release the schedule of the Asia Cup 2023, which is set to be played from 30th August to 17th July in the hybrid model in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

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PCB organized an event to unveil the trophy and announce the official schedule of the Asia Cup 2023. Chairman Zaka Ashraf invited former cricketers to the ceremony too and the event took place in Lahore on Wednesday (17th July). There were several reports ahead of that, suggesting that Jay Shah will also travel to Pakistan for the ceremony.

But BCCI officials along with Jay Shah later confirmed that he would not be traveling to Pakistan and there have been no conversations with Zaka Ashraf related to his visit to Pakistan.

But Zaka Ashraf has now revealed that Jay Shah promised him to visit Pakistan and also invited him to attend World Cup games in India. Giving insights about their meet in an interview with Cricket Pakistan, he said:

“I got to know that Jay Shah is the Secretary General of BCCI. When I went to South Africa, so I offered him to meet and talk. So we sat down for a conversation, and it went smoothly. Jay Shah gave his point of view, and I also in exchange reciprocated equally well.

“I invited him to the opening of the As Cup, and he promised that he’d definitely attend it. Conversely, he also invited me to the World Cup matches in India; I assured him of my presence over there.”

Also Read: Asia Cup 2023: Pakistan Squad For Asia Cup

Asia Cup 2023: People from behind the scenes in India said that this is not possible – Zaka Ashraf On Jay Shah’s visit to Pakistan

Zaka Ashraf further went on to say that everything was planned but after a few reports in Pakistan media related to Jay Shah’s visit, people in India said that this is not possible. He elaborated:

“Everything was almost decided and agreed upon. However, the moment Pakistan media channels broke this news, people from behind the scenes in India said that this is not possible. To top that off, Jay Shah released a statement saying they don’t intend to do so.

“We also affirmed that whenever they agree, we shall cordially work towards the betterment of the relations. Gradually, we’ll take steps forward and get the final breakthrough,” he concluded.

Also Read: Asia Cup 2023: India Squad For Asia Cup