PCB set to lose USD 3 million if they pull out from Asia Cup: PCB Chief Najam Sethi
Najam Sethi in Press Conference (Twitter)
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi has claimed that the cricket board will lose as many as US $3 million, if they opt out of Asia Cup 2023.
The 2023 edition of the Asia Cup was originally scheduled to take place in Pakistan, but owing to security-related objections from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the possibility of them staging the marquee event has come under jeopardy.
Speaking to the local reporters on Tuesday (April 11), the PCB supremo said that Pakistan will pull out of the Asia Cup if the hybrid model for the same - Pakistan playing its matches in Pakistan and India at an off-shore venue- is not agreed, Pakistan will not participate in the competition.
"We have made it very clear that unless the Asia Cup is held on a hybrid model like we have proposed, that is India playing its matches at an offshore venue and Pakistan hosting the remaining games at home we will not accept any other schedule and neither play," Sethi said as quoted by CricTracker.
Sethi further demanded his BCCI counterparts to provide written proof that the Indian government is unwilling to send the team to Pakistan owing to security issues.
"We will not lose our hosting rights. Security is no excuse for them now and we have told them if their government is not giving them clearance to play in Pakistan show us some written proof of this. When all other teams including Australia, England, New Zealand are playing in Pakistan without any issues there should be no security concerns for India to tour Pakistan," he added.
The last time an Indian cricket team toured Pakistan was during the 2008 summer for a tri-nation series. They were also scheduled to tour Pakistan for a full series later that year but it was eventually called off due to terror attacks in Mumbai.
 "Yash Mittal")
.jpg "Predicted Playing XI of Rajasthan Royals for Match 17 of IPL 2023")