Following the blockbuster match between India and Pakistan being abandoned, former Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Najam Sethi criticized the Asian Cricket Council for the scheduling of the continental tournament.

Sri Lanka was chosen as the co-host of the tournament as the BCCI had reservations regarding the Indian team traveling to Pakistan.

However, Sethi, who assumed an interim role following Ramiz Raja’s dismissal as PCB chairman last year, in a post on social media platform X had suggested the United Arab Emirates as the venue for the marquee continental tournament. But it was denied citing the hot weather conditions in the gulf country.

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“How disappointing! Rain mars the greatest contest in cricket. But this was forecast. As PCB Chair, I urged the ACC to play in UAE but poor excuses were made to accommodate Sri Lanka. Too hot in Dubai, they said. But it was as hot as when the Asia Cup was played there last time in Sep 2022 or when the IPL was played there in April 2014 and Sep 2020. Politics over sport. Unforgivable!” Sethi had written.

As the post had since gone viral on social media, ACC president Jay Shah issued an official statement on Thursday explaining the reasoning behind the refusal to host the tournament in the UAE. He attributed the body’s decision to host Asia Cup matches in Sri Lanka to teams’ reluctance to play ODIs in the UAE heat.

“The Asia Cup 2022 edition was played in the UAE in the T20 format. It’s important to emphasize that the dynamics of a T20 tournament cannot be directly compared to those of a 100-over One-day format,” Shah said, as quoted by PTI.

Adding more, Shah said, “In this context, ACC members received feedback from their respective high-performance teams, expressing concerns about playing One-day matches in the UAE in September. Such a schedule could have potentially led to player fatigue and an increased risk of injuries, particularly right before the all-important ICC Cricket World Cup. “All the full members, media rights holders, and in-stadia rights holders were initially hesitant to commit to hosting the entire tournament in Pakistan. This reluctance stemmed from concerns related to the security and economic situation prevailing in the country,” Shah said.

Why a Hybrid model:

Citing “several changes” in the Pakistan Cricket Board, Shah explained that there was a delay in the announcement of the Asia Cup schedule, according to an HT report.

“In my capacity as ACC President, I was committed to finding a viable and mutually agreeable solution. To this end, I accepted the hybrid model that was proposed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in collaboration with the ACC management,” Shah said.

“However, it’s important to note that the leadership of the PCB underwent several changes, and this resulted in some back-and-forth negotiations, particularly regarding crucial aspects such as tax exemption and insurance for matches,” Shah added.

With agency inputs.

Updated: 06 Sep 2023, 05:59 PM IST