If reports are to be believed, then the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has demanded compensation from the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) due to the loss of Asia Cup 2023 gate revenue as more matches are being played in Sri Lanka.
The Asia Cup 2023 is being played in a hybrid model with Pakistan hosting 4 games and the rest of the matches including the final being played in Sri Lanka. This happened after BCCI had announced that the Indian team would not travel to Pakistan owing to diplomatic issues.
Although the PCB has not officially commented on requesting compensation, it has been reported by some media outlets that PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf sent a formal letter to ACC president Jay Shah, outlining the demand for compensation.
Ashraf has expressed his disappointment with how the scheduling of the matches in Sri Lanka was managed by the ACC. In the letter, Ashraf also questioned who was responsible for making last-minute decisions to change venues without consulting other ACC board members.
This request for compensation reflects the PCB's concern about the financial impact of the venue changes on its revenue and its desire for accountability regarding the decision-making process within the ACC.
Ashraf's letter also mentions a meeting between some ACC members including those from Sri Lanka and Pakistan after the contest between India and Nepal.
“In the meeting, it was agreed that since the forecast is that Hambantota would remain dry the matches in Colombo should be moved there,” Ashraf wrote.
The letter states it was decided on September 5 by both the host countries and the ACC that matches should be moved to Hambantota, following which Sri Lanka's head curator was dispatched to prepare the pitches. Even the crew from official broadcasters had started making arrangements for moving to Hambantota.
It remains to be seen how the ACC will respond to this request and whether any compensation will be provided.
The letter says that the ACC sent an email to the PCB confirming it, which would be sending a press release to announce the shift in venue. Ashraf expressed surprise that after a while, the PCB was told to not consider the email, but later it was announced that the matches would be held as per the original schedule in Kandy and Colombo.
He also said that he was not happy with how hosts Pakistan were ignored while key decisions on the tournament and venues were taken.
(PTI inputs)
