Former PCB chief Najam Sethi has been constantly criticizing the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) for having a part of the Asia Cup 2023 played in Sri Lanka after two of the Group A matches in Kandy were affected by rains.
The continental event is being played as per the ‘hybrid module’ proposed by the PCB according to which 4 out of 13 games will be played in Pakistan and the rest 9 in the island nation. The method was implemented after BCCI denied sending Team India to Pakistan, citing diplomatic reasons.
The India vs. Pakistan encounter was a no-result as Pakistan didn’t get to bat in the second innings due to rain. And then when India faced Nepal, their chase was cut short to 23 overs due to rain interruptions.
This led to several media reports saying that the ACC is likely to shift the venues of Super Four matches from Colombo to Hambantota to avoid any rain interruption. However, on Tuesday, the ACC informed the stakeholders that all of the remaining games will be played as scheduled, in Colombo.
When Najam Sethi was the PCB chief and was negotiating the alternate venue for the Asia Cup, he suggested UAE due to no possibility of rain. However the stakeholders were not ready to play in UAE due to the intense heat in September and hence Sri Lanka was chosen.
Now Sethi has fired a fresh salvo at the ACC they decided to stick with Colombo as the venue for the remainder of Super 4s matches and the final. He asked if India was afraid of losing to Pakistan and highlighted the difference in the weather forecast of Colombo and Hambantota.
“BCCI/ACC informed PCB today that they had decided to shift the next India-Pak match from Colombo to Hambantota because of rain forecasts. Within one hour they changed their mind and announced Colombo as the venue. What’s going on? Is India afraid to play and lose to Pakistan? Look at the rain forecast,” Sethi posted on X.
Pakistan and Bangladesh will clash on September 6, 2023, in the first encounter of the Super 4s stage with India and Sri Lanka being the other two teams.
