Asia Cup 2023: Tension soars between PCB and Jay Shah

PCB and BCCI's dispute over Asia Cup scheduling led to a squabble between PCB's former and current chiefs and ACC president Jay Shah. BCCI refused to travel to Pakistan, forcing PCB to settle for Sri Lanka as co-host. Sethi blamed Shah for preferring Sri Lanka, while Ashraf demanded ACC compensate for losses due to rain in Colombo.

Merciless rain may have prevented a lot of action on the field during the Asia Cup, but there is no dearth of action off it. Especially with the squabble between Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB’s) former and current chiefs and the Asian Cricket Council’s (ACC) president, Jay Shah, who is also the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), over scheduling issues.

The Asia Cup itinerary was finalised after a prolonged dispute between PCB, the tournament host, and BCCI. Soon after the Asia Cup was awarded to Pakistan last year, the BCCI refused to travel to Pakistan, citing security reasons.

With the BCCI sticking to its stand, the PCB initially proposed the United Arab Emirates as a co-host for the hybrid model. However, with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh opposing the UAE due to severe heat in September, PCB was forced to settle for Sri Lanka as co-host.

On Tuesday, Najam Sethi, the former PCB chief, took to social media and squarely blamed Shah for preferring Sri Lanka, despite the weather threat. “Only Mr. Shah can explain why these options were rejected and why Sri Lanka was accommodated against all reason, logic, and rationality,” he posted on X.

In response, Shah, as the ACC president, issued a statement.

“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, adding that “several leadership changes” in PCB resulted in back-and-forth negotiations.

On Wednesday evening, Zaka Ashraf, the incumbent PCB chief, alleged an “arbitrary decision” by the ACC for sticking to Colombo as the venue for the Super Four games despite having earlier agreed to move the games to Hambantota.