Najam Sethi should know that he’s sitting on a powerful seat, so don't keep changing your stance repeatedly: Shahid Afridi

The Asia Cup 2023 debate is far from over. Pakistan Cricket Board chief Najam Sethi gave multiple contrasting statements in recent times, which eventually made former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi very unhappy about the situation. Initially, Pakistan’s plan was to host it on their home soil but Sethi later clarified that they can host it on English soil. After that, the plan now is to host it in two different countries but there’s hardly any clarity on the situation.

Notably, BCCI have made its stance clear that the Indian team will not be travelling to Pakistan for the Asia Cup. In return, Sethi threatened to opt out of the upcoming ODI World Cup but nothing is materialized so far. Thus, Sethi’s statements were heavily criticised by Afridi as the latter also asked about the need for the PCB chairman to give interviews everywhere.

“Sometimes, I hear that the Asia Cup will be hosted in England, but I fail to comprehend why he (Najam Sethi) feels the need to give interviews everywhere,” Afridi was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.

Let's move forward with consultation and avoid constantly changing things: Afridi

Furthermore, Shahid Afridi emphasized that Najam Sethi should take his advisors into trust and discuss all the agendas within the board instead of spilling the beans on the stance of PCB in the public domain. Notably, Sethi had indicated in a recent interview about the board mulling over hosting the Asia Cup in England for a neutral venue. The former chief selector also clarified that he will support whatever decision the PCB takes going ahead.

“I mean, Najam Sethi should know that this is a huge responsibility, and you are sitting on a powerful seat, so don't keep changing your stance repeatedly. Explain to your advisors or talk to them that whatever stance you are taking, we are with you, but let's move forward with consultation and avoid constantly changing things,” the former cricketer added.

Meanwhile, there’s still no clarity on where the upcoming Asia Cup will be hosted. Some reports previously claimed that Sri Lanka and Bangladesh refused to play in UAE because of the extreme heat while Sri Lanka remains to be an option but PCB decided not to host in the island country. As things stand, the board is preparing a hybrid model, but it needs to be seen if all the participating teams agree to that or not. The situation at the moment is very unclear.