Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Najam Sethi spoke about Pakistan’s participation in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India. He said that both cricket boards have no say in this as it depends on government clearance whether they will go to India or not.
The 2023 ICC World Cup is right around the corner as the mega event is scheduled to take place in India during the month of October and November. Preparations are in full swing as BCCI is renovating venues ahead of the tournament and the official tournament schedule will be released in the coming days.
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However, the big question remains Pakistan’s participation in the tournament. There have been a lot of issues lately between the two countries cricket boards about the 2023 Asia Cup and the Cricket World Cup.
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While the issues about the Asian Cup have been fixed with the hybrid model, there is still no confirmation that Pakistan will come to India for the World Cup. Recently, ICC officials went to Pakistan for clarification and it is known that the delay in the schedule is due to their confirmation as they do not have the green signal from the government yet.
The head of the PCB, Najam Sethi, does not have the decision in his hands, as the government is the key architect here. He cited how the same situation happened before the 2016 T20 World Cup and that he had to get permission from the government. Speaking to the press, he said:
“As far as India and Pakistan are concerned, neither the PCB nor the BCCI can make decisions. The respective governments can only make decisions. Do you remember what happened in 2016? India did not come before that either, but we went to India. I remember that I went to the Minister of the Interior at that time. We discuss whether we should go to India or not, boycott the World Cup or not.
“Then we discussed it with the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. He said we have to go. Then we teamed up with ISI and IB who went to India, we reviewed the sites in India, we moved a site from Dharamsala to Kolkata. Then we went and participated in the T20 World Cup.”
Also Read: ICC World Cup 2023 Schedule
ICC World Cup 2023: “Even if the government gives us permission, we have to look at the venues and decide where to play,” says Najam Sethi
Najam Sethi went on to say that they have also told the ICC that if the government gives them permission, they will travel to India. He was quick to jokingly say that even after getting clearance, they’ll have to look at the locations. He said:
“We have also told the ICC that if our government looks at the security considerations and gives us permission, we will go play in India. If they don’t give, how can we come to play in India?
“Even if the government gives us permission, we have to look at the venues and decide where to play. That comes later. First of all, the government has to give us the go-ahead. He has to tell us if we can go or not.”
Coming to the Asian Cup, the hybrid PCB model has been accepted by the ACC. Out of the 13 games, 4 games will be held in Pakistan while 9 games will be played in Sri Lanka.
Also Read: ICC World Cup 2023 Team List
Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma | Rishabh Pant | KL Raul | Suryakumar Yadav | Sanju Samson | Shreyas Iyer | Yuzvendra Chahal | Jasprit Bumrah
