"What type of standards are these?" - Najam Sethi lashes out at Jay Shah for his 'Asia Cup 2023 neutral venue' statement
Newly appointed Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi has called out the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah's decision not to travel to Pakistan for the 2023 Asia Cup.
The 2023 edition of the Asia Cup will be played in the 50-over format in the month of September. Pakistan has been allotted the hosting rights for the continental tournament.
However, Shah, who is also the president of the Asian Cricket Council, had explicitly mentioned in October 2022 that India will play the biennial event at a neutral venue.
The former PCB chairman Ramiz Raja had warned the BCCI that if India does not visit Pakistan for the 2023 Asia Cup then as a consequence, they will boycott the 2023 World Cup scheduled in India.
Speaking to Sports Tak on how BCCI is a different cricket board from PCB, Najam Sethi opined that politics should not influence the Indian cricket board's decision-making abilities.
Najam Sethi said:
"If you won't come to Pakistan and then say come to India. What type of standards are these? I believe that politics should be kept far aside. BCCI is an independent board but ours (PCB) is linked to the government. So definitely we have to take many permissions from the government but the BCCI considers itself as an independent and private unit then such type of politics isn't necessary."
Sethi backed his predecessor Raja for being disappointed with Shah's statement to snub the travel options to Pakistan.
Sethi added:
"Earlier also Mr Jay Shah gave a statement in which my predecessor Mr Ramiz Raja was not happy with that and expressed disappointment. He announced before that we (India) won't play against Pakistan in Pakistan."
'Won't you play the Champions Trophy as well' - Najam Sethi asks Jay Shah
It has been almost a decade and a half since the Asia Cup was last hosted in either India or Pakistan since the latter held the tournament in 2008.
India hasn't hosted the event for more than three decades. The BCCI was the host when the Asia Cup was last played in the ODI format. The tournament shifted from India to the UAE due to tense political tensions between India and Pakistan.
Apart from the 2023 Asia Cup, Pakistan are also expected to host the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. Questioning the BCCI on whether they would consider boycotting the Champions Trophy just like the Asia Cup, Najam Sethi asked:
"So the thing is on one side you want Pakistan to come and play the World Cup (2023) in India. On the other end, you say we don't want to go to Pakistan to play the Asia Cup. Tomorrow when the Champions Trophy will be played in Pakistan, won't you play that as well?"
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Jay Shah on Thursday, January 5, confirmed that the 2023 Asia Cup will be played in September, but there was no information about the schedule or the host country.