KARACHI: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi has warned the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that his country can exercise their ‘right’ to pull out of the Asia Cup, which India is all set to host in September next year.
Expressing his views on their arch-rivals’ objection over Pakistan hosting the 2018 Emerging Teams Asia Cup, Sethi was quoted by Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper as asserting that the PCB will decide whether the team will travel to India or not for the main event.
“I also raised the point that since the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is still awaiting an approval from the government to hold the Asia Cup and wants the visa clearance of all the participating teams, the PCB will decide whether to go to India or not because we are also bound by our government’s clearance,” Sethi told Dawn.
Representatives from India and Bangladesh were absent during the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting in Lahore earlier in October, after they had raised an issue to Pakistan hosting the Emerging Teams Asia Cup, which will be held in April 2018.
“The ACC Development Committee head and Sri Lanka Cricket chairman Thilanga Sumathipala tried to convince India and Bangladesh that they were also invited to attend the meeting [in Lahore] but they did not come. So the committee, with majority members’ votes, went on to make the decision in favour of Pakistan,” Sethi added.
The 14th edition of the Asia Cup is scheduled to be held in India from September 15 to 30, 2018.
