‘BCCI wants Pakistan to travel to India, but BCCI doesn't want India to play in Pakistan’ - Najam Sethi ahead of PCB’s meeting with ACC

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president, Jay Shah, dropped a bombshell in October 2022, saying that the Indian team will not be travelling to Pakistan for Asia Cup 2023. Hearing this, the Pakistan management was furious and a war of words began on social media. The then-chairman, Ramiz Raja, went a step further and stated that the Men in Green will boycott the ODI World Cup in 2023, if India decides not to participate in the continental cup or if their right to host is snatched.

Since then, PCB officials were eager to get in touch with Jay Shah but that didn’t happen as of yet. However, new PCB chief, Najam Sethi has confirmed that the ACC officials have finally decided to meet the governing body and a decision on the future of the Asia Cup will soon be made.

“Finally, we have a date now to meet ACC officials. I will attend ACC's meeting on February 4 in Bahrain. I am not sure about our stance for now; I will decide it in the meeting, keeping an eye on the situation,” said Sethi.

The 74-year-old, however, is cautious and expects BCCI to demand more in the meeting. He even took a dig at the Indian board saying that the Men in Blue are never allowed to travel to Pakistan but the board expects Pakistani players to do the same.

“BCCI wants Pakistan to travel to India, but BCCI doesn't want India to play in Pakistan. This is not something new for us,” he added.

Najam Sethi to allow Mohammad Amir to play international cricket

Former PCB chairman, Ramiz Raja, clearly mentioned that he will never allow cricketers who were banned for fixing to play cricket for Pakistan. However, Sethi doesn’t believe in the same philosophy and recently revealed that Amir will be allowed to play international cricket if he comes out of retirement.

“Mohammad Amir can play international cricket for Pakistan if he takes his retirement back. I always took a strong stance against match-fixing. I believe no convicted player should be spared, but at the same time, a player should be allowed to resume international cricket once he has completed his years of penalty,” said the chairman.

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