The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has expressed its dissatisfaction with Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary and president of the Asian Cricket Council, for announcing the schedule of the upcoming Asia Cup 2023 ahead of the PCB’s official ceremony in Lahore. The incident occurred on Wednesday, July 19, where the PCB had organized an event to unveil the Asia Cup schedule and trophy, attended by former Pakistan cricketers and PCB’s Cricket Management Committee (CMC) led by Zaka Ashraf.
However, just half-an-hour before the PCB’s ceremony was set to begin, Jay Shah posted the schedule on social media, spoiling the surprise for the PCB’s event. According to a reliable source within the board, the understanding with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) was that the schedule would be released five minutes after the Lahore ceremony started. The premature announcement by Jay Shah caused frustration and disappointment among PCB officials.
The PCB conveyed its displeasure to the ACC regarding the incident, but the ACC explained it as a misunderstanding due to the time difference between India and Pakistan. Nevertheless, the PCB remained unhappy with the situation, as India is half-an-hour ahead of Pakistan time, making Jay Shah’s announcement appear untimely and unexpected.
Some sources within the PCB suggested that Jay Shah’s actions might have been influenced by past issues between him and PCB chairman Ashraf and the sports minister, Ahsan Mazari. There were questions about whether Jay Shah had accepted an invitation from Zaka Ashraf to visit Pakistan for the Asia Cup matches, and the matter had been widely circulated by Mazari and the PCB in the media. It was speculated that Jay Shah’s announcement may have been a response to those incidents.
The Asia Cup is scheduled to commence on August 30 in Multan, with Pakistan facing Nepal in the opening match. The highly anticipated India-Pakistan clash, which falls under Group A, is scheduled to take place in Kandy on September 2. Pakistan is set to host four out of the 13 matches, including the first Super 4s fixture, while Sri Lanka will host the remaining nine matches, including the final
