After the first India vs. Pakistan game was canceled due to rain, Najam Sethi took to X / formerly Twitter to express his views. He questioned the decision to change the match venue from Colombo to Hambantota due to rain forecasts and implied that India might be avoiding the match out of fear. Sethi’s statement stirred controversy and anticipation.

Najam Shetty’s tweet here

Harbhajan Singh stated, “India does not want to play Pakistan because India is scared. India is never scared to play anyone. Don’t know where this is coming from. They needed to sit with the Asian Cricket Council and see where the tournament is going to be held. Whether the weather forecast was right or not. Boss, come and play us wherever you want, we will beat you.”

India and Pakistan are set to face each other for the second time in the Asia Cup 2023 on September 10 at the R. Premadasa stadium in Colombo.

Former PCB Chief Criticizes BCCI Secretary

The Asia Cup 2023 was originally scheduled to take place in Pakistan. However, due to political tensions between India and Pakistan, Sri Lanka co-hosted the continental event. As rain continues to disrupt matches, former Pakistan Cricket Board Chief Najam Sethi criticized BCCI secretary Jay Shah for not heeding his request to host the matches in the UAE.

“I pleaded for three approvals in various meetings with Jay Shah and ACC colleagues: Play all matches in Pakistan as international cricket had fully returned to Pakistan. When this was shot down, I proposed that we play five matches in Pakistan and eight in the UAE. This was also rejected, with hints of giving the Asia Cup hosting rights to Sri Lanka if we didn’t comply,” Najam Sethi wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

On the same day, BCCI President Roger Binny and BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla visited Lahore for a two-day visit.

When asked about his discussions with BCCI Secretary Jay Shah regarding the relocation of matches due to rain, Pakistan Cricket Board Chief Zaka Ashraf simply responded, “Thinking about it.”

Sethi, who previously served as the interim committee head appointed by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, was considered a frontrunner for the PCB chairmanship. However, with the expiration of the interim committee’s tenure and political dynamics at play, Sethi has opted to step back from the contention.

In a statement on Twitter, Sethi expressed his desire to avoid becoming a point of contention between Asif Ali Zardari, the head of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and Shehbaz Sharif. Given the instability and uncertainty surrounding the situation, Sethi announced that he is not a candidate for the PCB chairmanship, wishing all stakeholders the best of luck.

Zaka Ashraf, a former PCB chairman and supported by the PPP, is expected to be one of the prime minister’s appointed candidates for the role. Sethi had taken charge in December, given the task of revamping the domestic structure of cricket within 120 days as per the 2014 constitution, following the scrapping of the 2019 constitution.

During his tenure, Sethi made significant cricket-related decisions, such as appointing Mickey Arthur as the director of cricket and Grant Bradburn as the head coach. Recently, Morne Morkel, the former South African international, was named the national team’s bowling coach for a six-month period.

One of Sethi’s notable achievements was successfully implementing a hybrid model for the Asia Cup. Despite strained political relations between India and Pakistan, Sethi managed to secure four matches in Pakistan, while the remaining nine games of the Asia Cup will be played in Sri Lanka from August 31 to September 17, accommodating India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan for the tournament.

Australia was scheduled to play a series against Afghanistan in the UAE in March. However, the Afghanistan Cricket Board was going to face financial losses due to its inability to play. However, the news of hope is that Pakistan will play a three-match T20 series at the same venue at the same time.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi has confirmed that the Rashid khan-Mujib-ur-Rahman team will play the series against the team.

Najam Sethi announced on Sunday (February 5) that he would play the series. “Pakistan will play three T20Is against Australia in Sharjah at the end of March to make up for the loss suffered by Afghanistan as they cancel the bilateral series. ‘

Sharjah has been selected as the venue for all the matches of the series to be held at the end of March.

PCB CHIEF Executive Officer Faisal Hasnain has been asked to take 40 percent less than his monthly salary of Rs 26 lakh. Otherwise, the chairman has given an ultimatum to go straight back home.

According to Cricket Pakistan sources, not only the chief executive but several officials and employees of the board have been asked to deduct 30-40 percent of their salaries. If they do not agree to this, Najam Shetty has ordered them to leave the job and return home.

PCB officials and employees have been given a week’s time to take a decision on the salary. However, if they resign, they will get three months’ salary in advance.

There was no CEO post in the PCB’s 2014 constitution. The PCB’s new chairman is not willing to spend 25 lakh 93 thousand 750 rupees per month for this new post.

PCB’s chief financial officer Javed Murtaza gets Tk 14,12,980 per month. He is also at risk of losing his job.

Nadeem Khan, director of the PCB’s high-performance unit, has a salary of Tk 14,72,500. International Cricket Operations Manager Zakir Khan gets Tk 9,61,663 per month.

Nasir Hamid, director of Infrastructure and Real Estate, received a monthly salary of Tk 9 lakh, Sami Al Hasan Birni, director of media and communication of the PCB, TK 13,93,999 and chief medical officer Najibullah Sumro TK 11,77,500 per month.

After this directive of Najam Sethi, these PCB officials are in danger of losing their jobs. They have been asked to give a final decision within the next 7-10 days. Otherwise, you have to go back home.