Picture Credit: Twitter
On September 5, Tuesday, Jay Shah, the Secretary of BCCI and the President of ACC, shared his thoughts on the suggestions made by the former Chairman of PCB to host the Asia Cup 2023 in UAE, during his short tenure. The 34-year-old stated that scheduling ODI matches in the Middle Eastern country in the month of September for the continental cricket tournament could have potentially led to player fatigue and an increased risk of injuries.
When the India vs Pakistan Group A match in the Asia Cup 2023 was called off due to incessant rains at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy on September 2, Najam Sethi took to his official Twitter account to express his disappointment. The 75-year-old also revealed that during his tenure as the PCB Head, he had urged the ACC to play the continental cricket tournament in UAE, but to no avail.
In a detailed statement, Jay Shah talked about how the Asia Cup, played in UAE last September was in the T20I format, while in comparison, the ODI edition of the tournament this year, at the same venue in September, could have been a different proposition altogether. It read, as per the Indian Express, “The Asia Cup 2022 edition was played in the UAE in the T20 format. It’s important to emphasize that the dynamics of a T20 tournament cannot be directly compared to those of a 100-over One-day format.”
“In this context, ACC members received feedback from their respective high-performance teams, expressing concerns about playing One-day matches in the UAE in the month of September. Such a schedule could have potentially led to player fatigue and an increased risk of injuries, particularly right before the all-important ICC Cricket World Cup,” he added.
The 34-year-old spoke about how the stakeholders were hesitant about hosting the Asia Cup 2023 in its entirety in Pakistan and said, “All the full members, media rights holder, 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.”
Furthermore, Jay Shah also divulged the reason for accepting the hybrid model of hosting the Asia Cup 2023, as proposed by the PCB. “In my capacity as ACC President, I was committed to finding a viable and mutually agreeable solution. To this end, I had accepted the hybrid model that was proposed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in collaboration with the ACC management. However, it’s important to note that the leadership of the PCB underwent several changes, and this resulted in some back-and-forth negotiations, particularly regarding crucial aspects such as tax exemption and insurance for matches,” he remarked.
