The deadlock between BCCI and PCB is expected to deepen further as Pakistan’s board issues a second public statement in as many days, saying Indian board secretary Jay Shah has “unilaterally” revised the Asian Cricket Council’s (ACC) events calendar for 2023 and 2024 announced without informing the PCB.
On Friday morning, the ACC had issued a press release rejecting PCB chairman Najam Sethi’s allegation on Thursday that Shah, who is also the ACC president, had announced the ACC calendar for the next two years without informing the PCB. to keep.
Towards evening, the PCB released its own statement, via a Twitter post, saying that the ACC board, of which it was a part, should ratify the decisions of the development and marketing committees.
Thank you @ACCMedia1 for confirming that these were unilateral decisions announced by the ACC President, as DevCom and MarCom’s recommendations must be approved by the ACC Board, which, to our knowledge, has not met since December 13, 2022, nor has it approved through circular resolution https://t. co/XwTvQnVWZD
— PCB Media (@TheRealPCBMedia) January 6, 2023
On Thursday, Shah, in his capacity as ACC president, announced details of all ACC competitions over the next two years. “Presenting the @ACCMedia1 trajectory structure and cricket calendars for 2023 and 2024!” he tweeted. “It shows our unparalleled efforts and passion to take this game to new heights. With cricketers in several countries gearing up for spectacular performances, it promises to be a good time for cricket.”
Sethi quoted Shah later on Thursday, with some sarcasm: “Thank you Jay Shah for presenting the 2023-24 ACC structure and calendars unilaterally, especially in regards to the 2023 Asia Cup for which Pakistan is the host of the event. you could and also present the structure and calendar of our PSL 2023! A quick response would be appreciated.”
Thank you @JayShah for one-sided presentation @ACCMedia1 structure & calendars 2023-24 in particular regarding Asia Cup 2023 for which is the host of the event. While you’re at it, you might as well present the structure and calendar of our PSL 2023! A quick response is appreciated. https://t.co/UdW2GekAfR
— Najam Sethi (@najamsethi) January 5, 2023
A day later, the ACC released a statement saying that the PCB was informed of these details via email on December 22, 2022, but no response had been received.
“It has become known to us that PCB Chairman Mr. Najam Sethi has made a comment about the ACC President unilaterally making the decision to finalize the calendar and announcing the same,” the ACC statement said. “The ACC wants to clarify that it has followed the established fair process. The calendar was approved by the development committee and the finance and marketing committee at a meeting on December 13, 2022.
The calendar was then communicated individually to all participating members, including Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), via an email dated 22 December 2022. While responses were received from certain member boards, no comments or proposed changes were received from PCB. In view of the above, Mr Sethi’s comments on a social media platform are baseless and are strongly denied by the ACC.”
“They could have called us once” – Sethi
Speak against Sports branch, Sethi insisted that the PCB had not received that communication, or that he had not been made aware of it. “I’m not angry, I’m confused,” he said. “They could have called us once, consulted with us. Doing these things unilaterally is not good if there is counsel for it. As far as I know they have not consulted anyone. Does this mean when I become president?” after that I also make these decisions from home?”
In fact, Sethi revealed that the CEO of the PCB (although that position does not exist in the current government) Faisal Hasnain had contacted the BCCI several times to arrange a meeting, but had received no reply. He also advocated keeping politics out of the cricket ties between the two countries.
“On the one hand, you say you want Pakistan to come to India for the World Cup, but you also say we don’t want to play in Pakistan for the Asia Cup. If the Champions Trophy takes place in Pakistan (in February 2025), they will then don’t play?” that too? We should keep politics away from it. BCCI is an independent board. Our board is not even independent, we are a government agency, so we have to take advice from them all the time.
“Of course we will say that this tournament should be in Pakistan. All countries have come to Pakistan. There are no problems now. There are no security problems now. [As for neutral venue] we will cross that bridge when we get there. We will consult with the government.
January 6, 5.25pm GMT: The story has been updated to reflect PCB’s latest public statement