Lahore(Sports Reporter)_”Hybrid model is a compromise but we are ready for it. We have offered to host Asia Cup in two phases, four matches of the group stage will be played in Pakistan. After that, we all will go to a neutral venue to play the rest of the matches including the final,” Sethi said while talking to an Indian sports channel today.
Giving a clear message to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on the Asia Cup matter, Sethi said Pakistan’s government will not allow the team to play World Cup in India because their government stopped BCCI from touring Pakistan.
It must be noted here that the BCCI has been forcing Asian Cricket Council (ACC) to shift Asia Cup outside Pakistan. They are convincing ACC members not to play in the Asian event in Pakistan.
Sethi also shared his conversation with a senior ACC representative. “I met a senior ACC representative in Dubai three days ago. I explained the complete hybrid model to him. He went back to Jay Shah to discuss this model. Later on, I had a WhatsApp chat with him in which he said Jay Shah has no problem with it but he will consult with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka before making any decision,” he disclosed.
“I am quite surprised that this idea is being floated unofficially by Sri Lanka and by Bangladesh,” he said. “In the last ACC meeting, which was about a month ago, we all agreed that it was imperative that Pakistan play the Asia Cup and without Pakistan there will be no Asia Cup. Nearly 80% of the revenues of the Asia Cup are from India-Pakistan matches of which, the way the schedule is structured, we play at least two of those and possibly three if we are both in final. The only objection Bangladesh made was that it’s going to be too hot in September in the UAE and that would be a problem. Then the other issue was logistics. The proposal that I submitted takes care of all logistic problems.”
The PCB has also been keen to point out that both the 2018 and 2022 editions of the Asia Cup were played in the UAE in September.
According to Sethi, time is running out to make a decision. The board, he said, required three months to prepare. “We need to reserve venues in the UAE or Sri Lanka or wherever we decide. Time has already run out, the ACC has to make a decision. We have made our position clear. I had a meeting with a high level ACC interlocutor two days ago in Dubai. He liked it, he said it is eminently workable. He said he would go back to [BCCI secretary and ACC president] Jay Shah and talk to him.
“We need to resolve the first issue [of accepting the hybrid solution] and then we can sit across a table and decide where to play. We will be reasonable. The interolocuter said I have briefed Jay Shah about our meeting, he’s okay with it. He now wants to check with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. So let’s see where this goes.”
As has been the case throughout the protracted negotiations of where this tournament ends up, Sethi raised the spectre of the consequences in case the worst happens with the Asia Cup. “There is a very distinct possibility [of Pakistan not playing in the World Cup] if we do not come to any solutions right now. I raised this issue in the ACC meeting we had in Bahrain and I invited the ICC chairman [Greg Barclay] to come and sit with us and hear what we are talking about.
“The idea being that if the hybrid model works here, then we could well make it work in the World Cup. Meaning the Pakistan matches could be held in Bangladesh or the UAE, one hop away and we can sort it out and all other games in India. Why can’t India come to Pakistan and play? If India comes to Pakistan and plays, then we can go there and play and this matter will be resolved.”
Earlier, Indian media reported that Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have opposed PCB’s hybrid model. However, reliable sources in PCB confirmed that both countries have reservations about United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the neutral venue due to the routine hot weather there in September [Asia Cup window].
