Pakistan cricket chief Najam Sethi threatens to boycott ICC Cricket World Cup 2023

PCB chief Najam Sethi threatens to boycott ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in India if they lose Asia Cup 2023 hosting rights.

In Cricket, India vs Pakistan is a big business deal. Fans are waiting for multiple India vs Pakistan matches in September and October. Now a new statement from the PCB chief brings a little disappointment among cricket fans. PCB chief Najam Sethi has said Pakistan may boycott the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup in India if they lose an opportunity to host the Asia Cup in Pakistan. Pakistan were picked as the hosts of Asia Cup 2023. There’s a tussle between BCCI and PCB about participation and cricket in Pakistan. India have ruled out their participation until the tournament is not moved out of Pakistan citing security concerns. 

Tussle between BCCI and PCB

The Asia Cup 2023 is scheduled for September this year. PCB has offered India to play their games in UAE as a hybrid model but that was not accepted. The tussle has been going on for very long and statements from sides have only made cricket suffer. As per the reports, the BCCI has made their position very clear by stating that the Asia Cup should happen in a neutral venue. Pakistan Cricket Board chief Najam Sethi said, “They want all the matches in a neutral venue, so the BCCI should take a good, rational decision so that we don’t have any problem going forward”. 

Nazam Sethi threatens to boycott Cricket World Cup 2023 in India

A major team boycotting a major tournament will hit the business as well as the game of cricket in the longer run. So far, there have not been any instances when a Test-playing nation has boycotted a big event like the World Cup. Najam Sethi further added, “India should not be looking at a situation where we end up boycotting the Asia Cup and also the World Cup, and then India ends up boycotting the Champions Trophy. That will be a huge mess going forward”. In recent times many teams have toured Pakistan for a bilateral series and they have also hosted the Pakistan Super League. NZ, Australia, and England played bilateral series in the last year. 

Another report suggests, Amid the speculations of the Asia Cup moving out from Pakistan and UAE as a possible host, SLC and BCB came out opposing the move. PCB gave an option of hosting India’s game in UAE. The PCB chief also accused the BCCI of being stubborn in the entire situation. If India or Pakistan miss out on big events or a multinational event like Asia Cup is postponed or suspended, only Cricket is going to suffer in this power tussle.