Najam Sethi says PCB will not give away Asia Cup hosting rights
Asia Cup is scheduled in September this year
Najam Sethi, the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management committee, said there is no option to give away Asia Cup hosting rights.
Pakistan is scheduled to host the Asian event this year but the future hangs in balance since India refused to travel to Pakistan.
After presenting a hybrid model at Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting last month, the PCB head said there is no chance of losing hosting rights as it will have a huge financial loss for them.
"It is simple, we worked out a plan to host Asia Cup on a hybrid model. If India don't want to play in Pakistan, we will host them at a neutral venue," he said while speaking in Geo News' program Score.
"We presented the hybrid model in the ACC meeting. Pakistan and India will play each other at least twice. This match generates more than half of the revenue. We have calculated the extra budget and told ACC about it," he added.
"If they [India] are agreed to play in Pakistan, they are welcome. If they want to play at a neutral venue, we are ready. There is no option other than hosting this event otherwise we will not play," he maintained.
Sethi also said that they have done all of the planning including the schedule based on the hybrid model. "We have prepared a schedule and already presented it in the ACC meeting. We have also made a plan for logistics. On our side, everything is final. We just need a green signal," he asserted.
Asia Cup deadlock continues as India is not willing to go to Pakistan due to political differences.
Last year, former PCB chairman Ramiz Raja made bold statements after Indian cricket board secretary Jay Shah — who is also president of the ACC — said that India "can't" send a team to Pakistan, adding the Asia Cup would be moved to a neutral venue.
His announcement last year caught Pakistan by surprise, with the then PCB chairman warning it could "split" the international cricket community.
Sethi, since taking charge in December last year, has been facing Asia Cup matter. The Asian event (50-over format) is expected to be played in September this year.
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