As per the Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination (Sports), Ahsan Mazari, Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) acting chairman, Zaka Ashraf will be pushing for the country’s ODI World Cup 2023 matches to be held at neutral venues, during the ICC meetings in Durban this week.
Ashraf and the PCB Chief Operating Officer, Salman Taseer are in Durban to attend the ICC meetings where discussions will take place on India’s refusal to send its team to Pakistan owing to security concerns.
“If the Indian team are unwilling to travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup, then why can’t Pakistan’s matches be played in a neutral venue”, said Mazari.
Mazari also mentioned that members of the special committee which includes Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to suggest whether the team should travel for the World Cup in India. They believed that it was time Pakistan took a stance on India’s refusal to tour the country.
Owing to geo-political tensions between India and Pakistan, the BCCI has refused to play its Asia Cup matches in Pakistan and after months of speculation the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) announced that the tournament will be held in a hybrid format where four games will be held in Pakistan and nine matches to be held in Sri Lanka from August 31 to September 17.
The PCB also shared with the ICC and the BCCI that the national team’s participation in the World Cup is subject to government clearance due to the tensions between the countries.
Before Ashraf was named Chairman, his predecessor Najam Sethi had negotiated a deal with the ACC, including the BCCI where Pakistan would be allowed to host 4-5 Asia Cup matches while the rest could be hosted in Sri Lanka.
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According to a PTI report, Sethi had also prepared a strong case for the ICC to increase Pakistan’s share of revenues in the new financial model for members of the ACC.
Here Sethi’s argument was that if India were to get the biggest share of revenues from the ICC, Pakistan also demanded an increase in share since without their participation, the ICC would not be able to sign lucrative broadcast and other sponsorship deals for the new cycle of ICC events from 2023-2027.
The source added that if there were no India-Pakistan matches in ICC events then the other boards stand out to lose revenue.
However, how Ashraf would plead for an increase in revenues is to be seen.
With PTI Inputs