The Pakistan Cricket Board has now added a new twist to the 2023 ODI World Cup and Asia Cup. The Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Najam Sethi has expressed his discomfort to the International Cricket Council (ICC) President, Greg Barclay, regarding playing matches against India at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.
Sethi has said that Pakistan team will only play at Narendra Modi Stadium if it is a knockout game otherwise the team will not stand in favor of playing in Ahmedabad.
The tension between the Pakistan Cricket Board PCB and BCCI erupted after India rejected to play the Asia Cup in Pakistan and further stepped away from the hybrid model proposed by Pakistan. The PCB faced a significant setback when Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan also turned down their proposed hybrid model for organizing the 2023 Asia Cup.
The reports suggest that the team has no objections to playing matches in Kolkata, Chennai, and Bengaluru if PCB approves Pakistan National Team to travel to India for participation in the ODI World Cup 2023.
Recently, ICC President Greg Barclay along with ICC General Manager Geoff Allardice visited Karachi to seek permission from the PCB chief that they would play the ODI World Cup 2023 in India only.
“Sethi has conveyed to Barclay and Allardice that Pakistan doesn’t want its matches to be scheduled in Ahmedabad unless it is a knock-out game like the final. He even requested ICC to schedule their games in Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata if the national team gets clearance from the Pakistan government to travel to India for the global event scheduled in October and November,” as reported by Onmanorama.
