Zaka Ashraf to meet with Jay Shah at ICC annual session

• Zaka Ashraf and Jay Shah will meet during the ICC meeting in Durban.
• Minister Mazari suggested that Pakistan should demand neutral venues.
• Mazari dismissed security concerns and criticized India.

In conjunction with the chief executives’ committee (CEC) meeting of the International Cricket Council (ICC) annual session in Durban, South Africa, Zaka Ashraf, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee, and Jay Shah, the president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), will meet on Tuesday (today).

The meeting’s agenda will include the Asia Cup, which will utilize a hybrid model and be held in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, as well as Pakistan’s participation in the World Cup in India.

The PCB is probably going to advocate for more games being played in Pakistan during the Asia Cup. It is also expected that the Sri Lankan match locations and the Asia Cup’s yet-to-be-released schedule will be discussed.

Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan, has appointed a prominent committee to make a decision regarding the Men in Green’s participation in the October–November 2023 Cricket World Cup in India. Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will serve as the committee’s chairman.

Ehsan-ur-Rehman Mazari, the minister of interprovincial coordination, previously expressed his concerns over Pakistan visiting India for this year’s ICC World Cup.

As India did with the Asia Cup 2023, Mazari suggested that Pakistan demand that their Cricket World Cup matches be staged at a neutral location.

“My personal opinion, since the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) comes under my ministry, is that if India demands to play their Asia Cup games at a neutral venue, we would also demand the same for our World Cup games in India,” Mazari told the local Indian media.

Mazari dismissed the idea that Pakistan wasn’t a secure place to play cricket and criticized India for fusing politics and sport.

“India brings sports into politics. I don’t understand why the Indian government doesn’t want to send their cricket team here. Some time back a huge baseball contingent from India was in Islamabad to play. There was also the bridge team that had travelled to Pakistan. There were around 60 plus people, I was the chief guest of the event. They won here and left. Pakistan’s football, hockey and chess teams also travel to India,” he said.

“It [security concerns] wasn’t a solid argument. The New Zealand team was here, before that the England cricket team was in Pakistan. They got presidential security. Earlier, the Indian team was given a hearty welcome by the fans here. Security is an excuse. We also held the Pakistan Super League (PSL) that had so many foreign players,” he added.

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