Tag: BCCI

  • Asia Cup 2023: Bangladesh rejects Dubai as neutral venue proposed by Pakistan

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has proposed a hybrid model to Asian Cricket Council (ACC) as the best possible way to conduct the tournament amicably.

    The model initially proposed that India play their matches at a neutral venue and the rest of the teams come to Pakistan and play their matches, with a possible India vs. Pakistan final taking place at the neutral venue.

    Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reportedly rejected the first hybrid model, prompting Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Najam Sethi to propose a revised version in which the first four matches will take place in Pakistan and then all the teams along with the men in green, move to the neutral venue.

    PCB told ACC and BCCI that they decide the neutral venue because they are the hosts.

    PCB wants Dubai or UAE to be the host of Asia Cup if the hybrid model is considered because the money gateways are clearer in Dubai rather than Sri Lanka or any other venue.

    Bangladesh and Sri Lankan boards have agreed to the hybrid model but Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has observed that it’s too hot in Dubai so that’s why players are not agreeing to play in the desert city.

    “We have no issues if the tournament will be completely played in Pakistan, we have good bilateral relations with Pakistan and PCB, we are ready to come,” the board reported said, adding that they will be ok with Sri Lanka too.

    “The weather in UAE is not suitable for cricket and it will affect the health of players as we can not afford to take any risk specially ahead of World Cup 2023.”

    According to sources quoted by media, Pakistan will travel to India for the World Cup on the basis of some give and take if India agrees in writing that they will travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy.

  • PCB’s hybrid model under discussion as Pankaj Khimji and Jay Shah meet

    PCB’s hybrid model under discussion as Pankaj Khimji and Jay Shah meet

    After a strict warning from Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Najam Sethi, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is trying to find the best possible way to resolve the hosting matter for Asia Cup 2023.

    Najam Sethi warned ACC that Pakistan will stick to its stance if hosting rights will be compromised. More likely, Pakistan will boycott World Cup 2023 in India and will not play its matches in the arch-rival country, citing security concerns.

    After Sethi’s clear stance, ACC officials have now called a meeting. Jay Shah, President of ACC who is also secretary of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will meet with the Vice-President ACC Pankaj Khimji today.

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has offered to host the Asia Cup in two phases, first in Pakistan and the other at a neutral venue which is said to be decided mutually.

    Khimji will meet Shah to give him a briefing on the second option of the hybrid model. Moreover, Khimji will also share the details of his meeting with Najam Sethi with Shah.

    After Bangladesh and Sri Lanka agreed on the second hybrid model via email, as per sources, PCB is confident of a final decision by ACC very soon. The second option of the hybrid model is most likely to be accepted.

    ACC is also likely to call a meeting of board members by the end of this month.

    It must be noted that BCCI has refused to send their team to Pakistan for the Asia Cup, which is set to take place in September this year, and is keen on ensuring that the event is held at a neutral venue. However, the PCB is not interested in hosting the event outside Pakistan since it would affect its efforts with regards to the return of international cricket in the country.

    Despite being considered one of sport’s greatest rivalries, India and Pakistan have not met on home soil in any version of the game since 2012, and only play each other in multinational tournaments on neutral grounds.

  • ‘Is he mentally stable or not’: Ramiz Raja slams Sethi’s proposal for England to be Asia Cup host

    ‘Is he mentally stable or not’: Ramiz Raja slams Sethi’s proposal for England to be Asia Cup host

    Former Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ramiz Raja has slammed current head of the Board, Najam Sethi, on the issue of Asia Cup 2023 hosting country.

    Sethi is trying to solve the Asia Cup hosting issue amicably with Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Asian Cricket Council (ACC). Jay Shah, President of ACC and also Secretary of BCCI, has been accused of being biased and creating hurdles for Pakistan’s hosting rights of Asia Cup.
    “England could be a possibility as a venue for the Asia Cup,” Sethi said in an interview with BBC.

    Ramiz Raja expressed anger on the statement, raising questions about the mental health of the PCB chairman. “The whole purpose of Asia Cup right before the World Cup is to let the teams get used to Asian conditions.

    I was shocked to hear the Chairman PCB saying it would be great to see the Asia Cup being played at Lord’s. Is he mentally stable or not?” Raja questioned.

    Raja also said that it makes him angry when the chairman is saying that Pakistan Super League (PSL 9) will be conducted in UAE because of taxation issues in Pakistan.

    “On one side you are saying Pakistan is safe for cricket regarding Asia Cup and on the other hand you are saying PSL 9 will be conducted in UAE, what type of perspective are you trying to give, are you out of your mind,” Ramiz Raja asked.

    Former cricketer Salman Butt also took a dig on Sethi’s statement of hosting Asia Cup in England:
    “A neutral venue like this [England] is not viable for Asia Cup, it will not make sense as it will mean that there is not a single venue in Asia where it could be held.”
    “You can include England in it and make it Euro-Asia Cup. You can also give this suggestion. In the past, Austral-Asia Cup used to take place in which Australia participated.

    You can also include Ireland and Netherlands in it. It would be a World Cup-like event, as it will have six teams from Asia and four countries from Europe, so it will be a ten-team tournament. It will be a dress rehearsal for World Cup,” the former Pakistan opener said.

    He also added, “You can come up with as many ideas as possible but you also have to see what is practically possible.”

  • Solve Asia Cup issue amicably if you want to become ICC chief in the future: Najam Sethi advises Jay Shah

    Solve Asia Cup issue amicably if you want to become ICC chief in the future: Najam Sethi advises Jay Shah

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee Chairman Najam Sethi has shown concerns about the biased attitude of Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Chairman Jay Shah who is also the secretary of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

    Sethi said that if the ACC chairman wants to become the head of International cr Cricket Council (ICC) than he has to solve Asia Cup’s issue amicably.

    Jay Shah is the secretary of BCCI and also son of powerful BJP leader Amit Shah. He has refused to send the Indian team to Pakistan to play Asia Cup 2023, saying that the Indian Government is not allowing them to play in Pakistan.

    The excuse is childish and hypocritical because India has sent many other sports teams to Pakistan. If the Indian cricket team has security concerns then why is Indian government allowing other teams to travel in Pakistan, asked Najam Sethi in a BBC podcast.

    He advised the ACC president to be neutral and solve the matter amicably.

    “I think Jay [Shah] is a young man, he aspires to be the head of the ICC,” Sethi told Associated Press (AP). “My advice to my young friend would be if you want to be a leader, you have to keep the herd together, keep the flock together.

    “Don’t let it be said that when you were in the chair in the ACC, the ACC broke up.”

    Najam Sethi also said that we will always be on the helping side for Asian countries.
    “When Aussies pulled out against Afghanistan, we said to them that we will play a series with you and you will get some money from the series,” Sethi remarked.

    We do not have any issues with any team in Asia neither they have any issues with us, he said, adding that its just India.

    He also spoke about the hybrid model for the Asia Cup, which would allow India to play their matches at a neutral venue while the rest of the tournament takes place in Pakistan.

    “Until India is ready to play Pakistan bilaterally and in Pakistan, let’s have a hybrid solution,” he said.

  • ‘We do not have much time to waste anymore’: Najam Sethi asks ACC to decide

    ‘We do not have much time to waste anymore’: Najam Sethi asks ACC to decide

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee Chairman Najam Sethi has disclosed the crux of his recent meeting with Asian Cricket Council (ACC) officials and the official broadcaster of Asia Cup 2023.

    In BBC’s podcast ‘Stumped’, PCB Chairman Najam Sethi said that they had proposed a Hybrid Model a month ago to Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in which India will play their matches outside Pakistan and the rest of the teams will play their matches in Pakistan. “If India and Pakistan will meet in the final, we will play it at the neutral venue,” he said.

    BCCI secretary and ACC Chairman Jay Shah rejected the proposal by raising questions about logistics.

    “We have made it clear to them that it is we who decide where India can play their matches. If Sri Lanka suits us, we will choose Sri Lanka, but most probably we are prioritizing Dubai. First they have to consider and accept Hybrid Model then further talks begin,” Najam Sethi elaborated.

    That sounds negotiable, the Podcast host said.

    The PCB Chairman then said that they have proposed a revised version of ‘hybrid model’ in the recent meeting held twos days ago with ACC officials, in which the first four matches will be played in Pakistan and then the whole tournament will be shifted to Dubai.

    The ACC then raised a question about the possiblity of travel between two countries with all the crew and equipment.
    Sethi clarified that the teams have to come Pakistan just once.

    The podcaster asked Sethi how long it will take to negotiate, to which he replied, “Look, we only have three months left and we have to prepare. We have to selects the venues, we have to do arrangements for broadcasters. ACC have already wasted too much time, time is running out. ACC have to take a decision now”

    Najam Sethi also said that the World Cup is coming up, and if India does not come to Pakistan, our government will not allow Pakistan to travel to India.

    “If they don’t, why would we? Security risks are on both side,” Sethi concluded.

  • India wants the whole Asia Cup tournament shifted to Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka agrees

    India wants the whole Asia Cup tournament shifted to Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka agrees

    Sri Lanka is now one of the strongest contenders to host Asia Cup 2023 as the recent meeting of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee Chairman with the Vice-President of Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Pankhaj Khimji seems to have not gone as well as was expected.

    According to a report, PCB Chief Najam Sethi met with ACC officials on Tuesday, May 9, where it was decided that Pakistan would pull out of the tournament because their proposal of hosting it in the UAE was not accepted.

    Asia Cup is scheduled for September this year, but the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary, who is also the President of Asian Cricket Council (ACC) had threatened that the Indian government would not allow their team to travel to Pakistan because of security concerns.

    Regardless of the current political crisis in Pakistan, the country has just concluded a New Zealand series in peace. Yet Indian media and BCCI officials have based their decision to not send their team to Pakistan on security concerns.

    In the recent meeting with Jay Shah and ACC officials, Najam Sethi proposed a revised ‘Hybrid Model’ in which four teams Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh will play their matches in Pakistan and then all the teams along with Pakistan will move to Dubai to play the whole tournament.

    ACC officials straight away rejected the proposal by raising questions about logistics, asking how broadcasters will travel between the two countries with all the crew and equipment.

    Sethi reply was that they only had to travel to Pakistan only once and then will go to Dubai.

    ACC officials said that ahead of World Cup they cannot take the risk and that weather conditions are not suitable in Dubai for playing cricket.
    Sethi reportedly pointed out that the BCCI held IPL 2020 in Dubai and also in the same season.

    An ultimatum on the matter is expected by the end of this month. Should the decision go against Pakistan, the country’s status as a participant in the Cup would be up in the air, with a boycott being likely in that event.

  • Asia Cup 2023: Sri Lanka aligns with India to exclude Pakistan from Asia Cup?

    Asia Cup 2023: Sri Lanka aligns with India to exclude Pakistan from Asia Cup?

    Asia Cup is scheduled to be held in September 2023 but the event remains mired in doubts with India trying to derail the tournament. Pakistan has the official rights of hosting Asia Cup but Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is not ready to send its cricket team to the host country.

    The world has witnessed that many international teams have visited Pakistan to play matches.

    A series with New Zealand was recently concluded, in which both teams played five T20I and five One-Day International (ODI) in the different cities of Pakistan but BCCI still has concerns.

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Najam Sethi has presented a Hybrid Model in which India play their matches in Dubai, or more likely, in Sri Lanka.

    However, the BCCI has expressed dissatisfaction with this proposal. Currently, Sethi is in Dubai, where he met with ICC officials on Tuesday.

    He was scheduled to meet with Pankaj Khimji, Deputy President of the Asian Council, and cricket officials from the UAE to discuss the possibility of hosting India’s matches in the UAE under the ‘Hybrid Model.’

    The PCB is concerned that if the Asia Cup is not held now, the same issue may arise during the hosting of the Champions Trophy in 2025 and the ICC may decide to relocate the event if India does not participate.

    Therefore, under the proposed model, the Indian cricket team’s Champions Trophy matches will be held in Bangladesh. Currently, there is a tense stand-off between Pakistani and Indian officials, with India allegedly using its media to its advantage.

    The BCCI has also collaborated with Sri Lanka, convincing them to play two additional matches, as they have been eager to host the Asia Cup for some time now. In response, Pakistan has reminded Afghanistan that they recently played additional matches in Sharjah, and they stand with the PCB on this matter.

    While there are concerns about the heat in Dubai, efforts are being made to convince Bangladesh to cooperate, and they are reportedly willing to do so.

    PCB officials have publicly stated that “we have earned a substantial amount of money due to the PSL, and therefore, the Asia Cup’s cancellation would not be a significant concern for them.”

    In reality, the Pakistani authorities aim to avoid financial losses and prioritize preparations for the upcoming World Cup.

    Several news reports regarding the Asia Cup were circulating in the Indian media yesterday. One report claimed that “the members have rejected the PCB’s ‘Hybrid Model’ and moved the event from Pakistan.”

    However, an official representative from the PCB, who was in contact with an Indian Express representative, dismissed these reports as baseless and an attempt by the BCCI to increase pressure.

    He stated that the ACC has not officially denied accepting the ‘Hybrid Model’ proposed by the PCB, and discussions are still ongoing. The official further added that unverified news from unnamed sources is not credible.

  • World Cup 2023: Will Pakistan travel to India for the mega event?

    World Cup 2023: Will Pakistan travel to India for the mega event?

    As World Cup 2023 gets closer, cricketing fans wait for the joy of an India vs Pakistan clash.

    However, will Pakistan actually participate in the mega event? Speculations are rife that the country may skip the event. What has led to these rumors?

    The Indian government has said that they will not allow their team to travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup 2023, leading to the assumption that the hardliner government will not allow the Pakistani team to play in India.

    The mega event of International Cricket Council (ICC) is set to take place in India, with broadcasters eyeing the potential of huge revenues from an India vs Pakistan match.

    However, will the Pakistan team get permission to travel to India in the light of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s recent statement given during a trip to India?

    “Sports should be kept separated from politics and foreign policy,” the FM had stated during his visit to attend the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting.

    Earlier reports had claimed that Pakistan will play its World Cup matches in Ahmedabad in Narendra Modi stadium in Gujrat.

    “Pakistan may not agree to play against India at Narendra Modi Stadium due to certain reasons,” a source has disclosed, without discussing further details on the matter before the announcement of the official schedule.

    It must be noted here that International Cricket Council (ICC) hasn’t announced the schedule for the World Cup so far. The mega event will take place in October-November this year in India.

    A reliable source in PCB has also denied reports regarding their demand from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to give them a guarantee in writing that if Pakistan goes to India for ICC World Cup, then they will come here for ICC Champions Trophy in 2025.

  • Asia Cup in Pakistan or not: Next 48 hours crucial

    Asia Cup in Pakistan or not: Next 48 hours crucial

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee Chairman Najam Sethi is in Dubai for a crucial meeting with Jay Shah, the President of Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and also secretary for Board of Control for cricket in India (BCCI).

    Jay Shah has continuously threatened PCB that the Indian team will not travel to Pakistan for Asia Cup 2023 and force Pakistan to step back from hosting the tournament.

    Pakistan has declared its stance loudly and clearly for everyone that if Pakistan is forced to back off from hosting Asia Cup, warning that if anyone tries to take away Pakistan’s rights, the country will boycott Asia Cup and will also not travel to India for the upcoming World Cup.

    Najam Sethi also proposed a hybrid model for India, suggesting that they can play their matches at another venue but it’s Pakistan’s right as host to decide where those matches will be played.

    Star Sports’ owner is also attending the meeting.

    It is clear that no other team will give the kind of revenue an India Vs Pakistan match can produce. Star Sports has a contract with ACC from 2016 to 2023 under which they paid 50 million USD.

    Indian Media has reported that BCCI is planning to organized its own five nation Asia Cup in which they will exclude Pakistan but broadcasters are not ready for this.

    Earlier Indian media ran fake news that Asia Cup has been shifted to Sri lanka but Sri Lankan media denied Indian media reports.

  • Asia Cup: Sri Lanka denies Indian media reports of hosting tournament

    Asia Cup: Sri Lanka denies Indian media reports of hosting tournament

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee Chairman Najam Sethi left for Dubai on Tuesday for a crucial meeting with Asia Cricket Council (ACC) Chairman Jay Shah.

    Media reports have stated that the owner of Star Sports will also attend the meeting.

    Ahead of the meeting Indian media ran false reports that Sri Lanka is set to host Asia Cup 2023 after the tournament is shifted from Pakistan.

    However, Sri Lankan media has rubbished the news and said that the Board of the island nation have stated that there has been no official announcement by ACC on the matter.

    Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has locked horns with PCB over the matter, threating to form their own five nation version of the tournament, excluding Pakistan, and influencing other teams not to travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup 2023.

    On the other hand, PCB had indicated that they would boycott the event if it would be held outside Pakistan.

    Pakistan has suggested a hybrid model, in which Pakistan will host all other matches of Asia Cup but India will play at a neutral venue. However, Indian media have reported that broadcasters were not satisfied with the offer.